Kakashi's Stolen Sharingan Book2
by Kopykat Kakashi
Summary: Sequel to KKT. Kakashi's eye is stolen by his conflicted lover. Rewrite dropped, old ending posted. Sorry!
1. Prologue

_Author's Notes: When I first started this series, I imagined it to be primarily action/adventure. Since then I realized that I don't write action as well, so now I concentrate on character development, character interaction and psychology, but there will be a few action scenes. I also tried to avoid lemon scenes in the original stories, but since sex is an innate part of a serious adult relationship (though I do not advocate pre-marital sex), and an important psychological tool, there will be non-gratuitous lemon/lime scenes._

_This is a complete rewrite of the sequel to 'Kakashi and the Kunoichi from Thunder Country.' Now I have Kakashi and Gai on a mission to retrieve Kakashi's eye, and more complicated motives for Rikako's actions. Mostly readable as a standalone but please read the first book._

_I started writing this series during the chuunin exams, but the rewrites make references to events prior to the manga time skip and incorporates Kakashi's past, slight spoilers. _

* * *

**KAKASHI'S STOLEN SHARINGAN**

**BOOK II OF THE CHRONICLES OF KAKASHI AND THE KUNOICHI FROM THUNDER COUNTRY**

_**PROLOGUE**_

The gray haired veteran shinobi was lying on the green grass of Konoha with his hands folded behind his head, whiling away a bright sunny morning. He could not feel the dampness of the grass through his shinbobi vest, but the early morning dew seeped uncomfortably through his pants. Through his half closed, heavy lidded eyes, he lazily looked over at the serious young woman sitting up next to him on his right side. He thought how unfair it was that she had the foresight to bring a blanket to sit on, but not the consideration to bring one for him or to offer to share hers, and how fair she was with her long dark hair and large dark eyes against her pearlescent skin. He wanted to reach over to her, climb on top of her, crush her body with his, but he knew by the look of heavy concentration in her pretty face that his advances would be rebuffed, again. The dark haired, dark eyed beauty was totally absorbed in a book, "The Science of Cooking."

Kakashi sighed and turned his head to the left. In the distance he saw a strange dense fog rolling in. He should have been alarmed, but instead his natural curiosity kept him calm and he continued to stare at the approaching preternatural mist with its gray vapors churning and swirling ominously. Gradually a figure appeared amidst the dark vapors. It seemed to be humanoid but it was crawling along on the ground like an unsteady infant, or rather it was dragging itself across the ground. He knew he should say something now to the young woman with him, but he remained speechless. She seemed to be completely oblivious and did not notice anything unusual at all.

As the figure neared, Kakashi sat up. He saw that it was dragging itself by one arm and pushing itself by one leg, both on the left side. The right side trailed crimson blood and yellow viscera and flopped futilely, a mess of sinew and bone. He stared at its face, or rather half of a face. The right side of its head was unrecognizably crushed like the rest of that side. The left side he recognized with shock as his best friend and teammate from ages ago, Uchiha Obito.

The thing lifted its head to stare back at Kakashi, but it had no eyes at all. Its left eye socket was blank and bloody.

Kakashi sat frozen as if by a paralysis jutsu, but he could feel sweat soaking his forehead protector, his heart nearly jumping out of its cage, and his body trembling all over. Yet he could do nothing but continue to stare.

Then the Obito-like creature reached out with its good arm, streaked with blood and dirt. A guttural gurgling voice, as if choking on blood, pleaded, "Kakashi…I want my sharingan back!"

Its old comrade nodded calmly in response and pushed up his headband, intending to reach in with his fingers to gouge out his left eye, to return it to its original owner. But there was nothing there but an organless void. The sharingan was gone!

Kakashi frantically turned to the young woman seated by his side, her nose still in her book, to say "My eye! Obito's sharingan..." He stopped when he saw that the title of the book had changed to "One Thousand And One Techniques Copied by Konoha's Kakashi no Sharingan."

She looked up from her book with quizzical mismatched eyes...

-…-…-…-


	2. The Theft

**PART I_ DECEPTION_**

_**The Theft**_

Kakashi woke from a disturbing dream to find himself lying on something unfamiliar, something rather hard and uncomfortable. But there was a familiar odor in the air, something like disinfectant. '_What's going on? I can't move at all...'_

He realized with a subdued panic, that not only did his limbs fail to work, he could feel nothing from the neck down. But he did feel a throbbing in his head so intense he could barely open his eyes. A genuine sense of panic would have overtaken someone with much less experience, but the veteran shinobi maintained his composure. He tried to focus his senses and now he could make out some raised voices. It sounded like Rikako was arguing with her father.

"...if you want to see mo...your wife again, I would advise you to proceed with the operation..."

"How can you do this to us? After all we've done for you..."

"Do you think I returned here to this miserable village out of gratitude? I want that eye! If anything goes wrong on that operating table, I can assure you, Rika will not be the person you once knew."

"Damn it! What have you done to her?"

"Nothing…yet…if everything goes right. Please proceed. And by the way, I'll know if you're doing it properly. I can kill you with a thought."

Through blurred vision from both his eyes, Kakashi saw Dr. Otori walking over to him with a scooper scalpel in his hand. He finally realized that he was in Otori's operating room on a gurney. But why couldn't he move and what was going on?

The old medic's massive body leaned over him. Kakashi tried to form words but failed. Now a real sense of panic finally set in as he watched the scalpel, slowly approach his face.

There was more than just fear in the old man's eyes. A deep sadness was reflected in his voice as he said, "I'm sorry Kakashi, but I have to do what she says or she'll kill us all…or worse."

_-…-…-...-_

_Fifteen minutes ago:_

"I think I'd like to work on my basic taijutsu today, no seals, or chakra," Rikako suggested to Kakashi during their training session in the middle of an open field. She had her staff out, not extended, and started off with simple fencing moves while Kakashi deftly sidestepped her attacks and defended himself against her staff with his glove plates. She was practicing close combat and she got in really, really close.

'_She's fast, maybe faster than I was in my prime,_' the veteran shinobi thought, '_but without using her chakra, not that strong. Not that she needs to be, with speed and a lethal weapon, she's dangerous enough. Gai taught her well. I'll give the annoying fool that much credit. And it seems she's had some further training while she was away. Still, if I had my sharingan exposed…'_

As if hearing his thoughts, the kunoichi bent low and attacked his legs instead. Her petite size made it easy to stab her staff at his legs. Kakashi performed what looked like a badly coordinated jig in order to avoid the attacks. Then she swept her staff in a circular motion. He easily leaped over it but she suddenly stopped the sweeping motion short and pulled the pole up, nearly dealing him a glancing blow on his calf. He somersaulted in mid air, using her staff to push off against with one hand, but he held onto the staff with the other and tried to wrench it away from her. She wouldn't let go and ended up pressed against his chest. "So this is what you really wanted isn't it?" he teased. Her answer was an attempted elbow to the neck.

He suddenly felt a rumbling from under him and the ground giving way. He would normally have used the replacement technique, or just speedily jump out of the way, but he felt no sense of danger, no foreign chakra and he was completely preoccupied from defending himself against her sudden amplified volley of attacks – she had increased both her speed and strength. And he had agreed to the rules - no seals, no chakra. In seconds, only his head was above the ground_. 'How did she sneak in the earth decapitation technique?' _he wondered then said aloud, "Hey you cheated! You said no seals!"

"Did I? You really do trust me, don't you? Didn't I tell you I was also practicing my deception techniques?" she said with a smile which did not quite reach her eyes.

"Ha-ha, very funny, now help me out of this," Kakashi demanded, but he smiled to himself, amused by her little trick_. 'Sometimes she really does have a strange sense of humor._'

"Sorry, but this is going to hurt," she replied seriously and without smiling while taking out her senbon.

His last thought before the needles struck was, '_Not again!'_

-…-…-…-

His vision and hearing were still fuzzy and now there was a searing pain in his left eye coupled by the headache from before. '_What's going on? What happened?'_ Kakashi struggled to remember the day's events, but his memories were still incoherent. It was as if a warm haze from a sudden summer thundershower had entered his orifices and afflicted his senses.

He woke to find Dr. Otori comforting his wife Rika who was sobbing copiously on his shoulder.

'_How could she, how could she...'_

'_What's going on? How could who do what?'_ Kakashi thought still while trying to clear his head. He slowly sat up and managed to croak out, "Where's Rikako?"

Otori answered in a defeated voice, unusual for such an imposing man, "She's gone."

"Gone?"

"You'll have to report this to the Hokage."

"Report what? What's happened?" Kakashi asked anxiously.

'_Poor man... but he should have known. He should have known. No… that isn't fair. She had us all fooled. He's the one hurt most by this.'_

"Known what?" Kakashi asked and then he realized something was wrong. He did not actually hear those words said - he heard them in his head.

Otori replied, "I'm sorry about your eye Kakashi. I know how much it meant to you."

"My eye?" Confused and in adamant denial of the possibility, Kakashi got up carefully and walked unsteadily over to the mirror by the sink.

His sharingan was gone! In its place was a familiar dark eye with just a hint of green, with its pupil expanding and contracting erratically.

-…-…-…-

_'How could she? How could she?' _

Kakashi's mind echoed Rika's thoughts. But the question was not whether she could or not, after all, he knew exactly how she did it, the real question was why, why did she?

'_The earth clone must have been hiding even before we started training. She must have planned this all along! She has at least an hour head start_,' Kakashi thought angrily as he rushed to report the incident to the Hokage. His hands shook in uncontrollable rage though his face remained expressionless except for the knit of his eyebrows. '_This is unforgivable! Betraying me, betraying her parents, betraying Konoha, stealing my eye! She's definitely a missing-nin now! Where could she be headed? Thunder Country? Is she using my sharingan to prove her loyalty? What happened there? She spoke little of her time there. So that's why…'_

He wanted to hunt her himself, not necessarily for revenge, he insisted, after all he did not advocate vengeance, but to get his sharingan back, intact. For what would Konoha's copy-nin be without his sharingan? For over two decades that had been his moniker. For over two decades he was able to keep the memory of his best friend alive. What would he be without it? Would he just retire from active duty? It gave him that special advantage, but he was adept enough to have made jounin without it. He didn't really need it for the most part. But it was Obito's eye.

'_My eye, my sharingan… no, Obito's eye, his sharingan. She can't have it! Blasphemous bitch!' _

He was so stunned at her attack, he didn't attempt a jutsu to escape from the earth decapitation. Even when he felt the senbon piercing his neck, he didn't believe it. He was a fool, to have allowed such a trespass into his heart and the theft of his eye. Yet he had been so sure, so sure of her feelings for him he would have bet his life, or rather his sharingan (Kakashi was normally an expert gambler, banned from most gambling establishments and not welcome at jounin poker parties). It seemed he didn't understand human nature at all. His sharingan was useless for seeing into the hearts and minds of people. Ironically he now had her eye, which apparently had that power.

'_Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice…I'm going to kill her!'_

How could he have been so wrong about her? But then again he had been wrong about the most important people in his wretched life: wrong about his father, wrong to disparage his decision; wrong about Yondaime, wrong to ignore his sensei's lessons; wrong about Obito, wrong to treat him so poorly; wrong about Rin, wrong to push her away. He was wrong about how deep the thirst for vengeance ran in Sasuke. He was naïve, thinking how his few pathetic words of advice would turn a self proclaimed avenger away from darkness.

And now he was wrong about his second disciple. He was naïve, thinking she could forgive him so easily for killing her parents. This was her true intention, to take what was most important to him. She had waited all these weeks to catch him off guard. All this time she must have hated him and wanted revenge. Now it was his duty to bring her back, after failing so miserably again.

As the sharingan-less shinobi struggled with his conflicting feelings, to his irritation, his thoughts were constantly interrupted by snippets of thoughts not his own:

'_What a rare sight, Kakashi is actually hurrying somewhere. He must be late for an important appointment. Wonder what lame excuse he'll use this time…'_

'_The latest volume of the Icha Icha series must be out for Kakashi to run that fast…'_

'_There goes copy-nin Kakashi… thinks he's so cool. Get a haircut dude!'_

'_That Kakashi, brushed right past me. Didn't even say hello. Arrogant bastard!'_

'_Sigh, that Kakashi's such a hunk. Wish he'd visit my bed...' _

'_Who said what? (Was that a guy or girl who had that last thought?) No time to find out...'_ Kakashi tried to ignore the thoughts jumping in and out of his mind. He pulled his forehead protector tightly against _her_ eye but it didn't seem to help at all. '_So this is part of her powers. How annoying! No wonder she's that way sometimes…'_

But he loved her the way she was or rather he had loved her. Now all he could think of was his hands around her pretty little neck and squeezing…hard... and not for kinks either. _'I must still be dreaming, this is a nightmare. I must be in some sort of delirium or a coma. This is not happening.'_ But even as he denied it, he knew it was real, as real as the intense throbbing pain in his left eye socket, still healing from the transplant operation.

His mind went back and forth from which jutsu he would use once he found her to reviewing the past few weeks for any hint of betrayal, but he could think of nothing. After the initial shock wore off, his fury abated to profound regret as he thought bitterly of their last night together, just passed. He never would have thought it would lead to this, but perhaps it was just another way to disarm him. It was the first time she told him she loved him.

-…-…-…-

_Author's Notes: Ok, whether Kakashi would be so easily defeated is questionable but otherwise I wouldn't have a story and I freely admit being weak in action. But I figure Zabuza caught Kakashi easily in his hydro prison, so I think he would be fooled by someone close to him whom he trusts._

_The chapters in this first part alternate between the present and past. The next chapter picks up the day after Rikako's return in the first story. _

-…-…-…-


	3. House Arrest

_Author's Notes: This chapter picks up the day after the epilogue (just posted) to the first story. _

_**House Arrest**_

'_It's been over 24 hours and no word.'_

There had been no grand announcement that the stray sheep had return to the fold. He had heard nothing from Rikako or the Hokage. But then again his day had been spent with his genin at a farmhouse outside Konoha's walls. His team had performed all the drudge work of manure shoveling, fertilizing the fields, reinforcing fences, repairing roofs, while he supervised, i.e. watched from a distance. He held one of his banned books in front of his face, but he was not reading. Kakashi was thinking of what to do after the mission.

Chances were she had already smoothed things over with the Hokage. She was good at talking, at convincing people, at playing to their personality. And old Sandaime was the forgiving type. It was unlikely she would be punished. Unless…unless he did not approve of her powers. Maybe he would want to seal them away. How would she feel about that? Would she welcome it or was it an innate part of her that she would not willingly give up after so long, despite its self destructive potential. Having such powers was more of a curse than a blessing from her description.

And her parents…would they welcome her back with open arms or mistrust her and hold her at a distance. In any case, she would need someone to stand by her, so he resolved to be her pillar.

So after the mission, when the sun had already set, Kakashi dropped by the old medic's home. As usual his wife Rika answered the door. She glared at the masked shinobi, silently still blaming him for her daughter's departure.

"Good evening Rika-san, is your daughter home?"

"No."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yes."

"Umm, can you tell me?" _'Sigh I should have checked the library or the academy first.'_

"Probably the library," she said as she closed the door.

'_Well, it could be worse,'_ Kakashi thought_. 'She didn't slam the door in my face like last time. Things can't be too bad if her parents know her schedule.'_

But she wasn't at the library. After a few more inquiries (summoning Pakkun for such a menial task just didn't seem right, plus the pug would have had something sarcastic to say) he found her with a group of friends at the dumpling restaurant. But as soon as he stepped foot pass the restaurant's threshold, he regretted it.

That was his thought when one of his ex-genin caught his eye and waved him over. He recognized them all. There was Takeo who was looking a bit more chipper than usual, sitting next to that tall girl Anzu with the ability to control plants who was on Kurenai's team back then. It seemed they were an item. _'Interesting, she must be half a head taller than he is,'_ Kakashi mused. Then there was Rikako's other ex-teammate Kenji who was sitting with a civilian. He recognized the girl, Nanka, as one of the dumpling restaurant's waitresses, a cheerful plump girl, much like her moniker (_Nanka means pumpkin_). Rikako had her head turned to speak to her and appeared to be smiling and laughing. It seemed she did not notice or miss him at all.

He immediately felt like an intruder. Out of place, again. Out of place, he'd felt that way most of his life except in battle. War, death, everyone was equal on the battlefield. But as a child prodigy, those his age were not his peers. His single year at the Academy was spent alone. His first missions were with grown men who secretly resented him or openly treated him like a child. When he was teamed with those his age on the hopes that he'd mature as a leader, he was the one who treated them like children. Then he had joined the Anbu, wearing a mask on top of a mask, where everyone was faceless, nameless, the same. There was no socializing and that was what he preferred. But being a sensei was different. There was the company of his students, but he was the instructor, no small talk required. There were the other sensei, his peers whom he saw on occasion. But socializing with them was normally work related as well. He avoided the shinobi mixers. So what could he say to these young shinobi on their downtime?

But it was too late to turn around and leave and pretend no one saw him so he coolly walked over to the table.

"Hey Kakashi sensei, haven't seen you in a while. We asked Rikako-chan to invite you but she said you were probably on a mission and too busy to join us. I'm glad you made it after all," Takeo said, assuming that Rikako had left their former sensei a message.

"When was the last time we were all together like this? It must have been before Rikako-chan made jounin. Wow, time sure flies," Kenji commented.

'Hi guys, good to see you. Looks like you're all doing well," Kakashi replied sincerely, thinking how he had missed all his former students.

Everyone shifted their seats a bit to make space and Kenji grabbed another chair and placed it next to Rikako to form a ring of boy/girl/boy/girl, but Kakashi remained standing, still trying to think of an excuse not to stay. Rikako had said nothing and made no motion that he should sit next to her. If anything she seemed rather embarrassed at his presence. But finally she smiled and said in her formal tone, "For Kakashi-sensei to grace us with his presence at all is a great honor."

Analyzing her indifference, he wondered how much did her friends know about their relationship. What did she tell them about her absence? Had they heard anything through the shinobi grapevine? What did they think of such a relationship between a sensei and a former student? The age difference didn't bother him when they were alone together, except for the occasional jokes she made, but before these young shinobi, it bothered him, a lot. He already had a reputation as a pervert because of his choice of reading material. This would just add to it. But why did he care? He didn't care what people thought of him. Never did. So with that thought he sat down.

"Rikako-chan said she's been on a top secret mission this past month so that's why we haven't seen her. I really want to know what it is but mum's the word," Kenji said disappointedly.

'_So that's what she's been telling people. Good." _But then Kakashi still wondered if they knew that he was more than just her ex-sensei.

"There're still some shrimp and pork dumplings left over," Takeo offered as he presented Kakashi with a new pair of chopsticks.

Kakashi thanked him but said he ate already, which wasn't true. He heard Rikako release a small snort of laughter. She seemed to be restraining herself from cracking up.

She knew that he was ill at ease despite his nonchalance. The short time they were together before she left theyrarely ate out and never with company. Though she was never fond of parties, her chameleon like nature adapted accordingly. Socializing was out of his element so she discretely took his hand under the table and gave it a slight squeeze of reassurance. That simple act made a world of difference and he began to settle down and listened to the banter.

To his relief the conversation was geared toward their recent missions. The civilian among them listened enraptured. Kakashi wondered if she felt out of place. But the pleasantly plump girl asked questions and busied herself serving tea to everyone.

"Excuse me for asking, but do you always wear that mask?" she asked Kakashi.

Everyone else smiled at an inside joke.

"Well, not all the time. I do eat, drink, and sleep," Kakashi replied seriously.

"So why are you wearing it now?" she persisted.

"Well, let's say all this food has been poisoned. I'd be the only one left to avenge you all," Kakashi explained.

"Oh, I see. That makes a lot of sense," she said contemplatively. "And you said he was just weird," she laughed and poke Kenji in the ribs.

Kakashi's ex-genin all thought, '_But he is weird!'_

"Uh, so how are your genin doing? Will they be taking the chuunin exams this year?" Takeo asked to change the subject.

"They've made good progress. I'll probably nominate them next time around."

"So which was your favorite genin team?" Kenji asked rather inappropriately.

"The current. They're much less trouble," Kakashi replied with a chuckle. He felt Rikako kick him under the table.

"We couldn't have been as bad as your first team," Kenji insisted, "no missing-nin! Hah!"

'_That was not funny.'_ Kakashi was still sensitive about Sasuke's betrayal, but he just smiled from under his mask and shrugged.

"What kind of mission did your team have today?" asked Anzu.

"Let me guess," Rikako interrupted, "you were at a farm. I can smell it." She wrinkled her little nose in disgust, but she laughed anyway.

"Sorry, forgot to change. Was in a bit of a hurry," Kakashi shrugged.

"Well, I'm sure I smell the same," laughed Anzu, "I'm always out in the fields and forests.

'_Yeah, but not with fertilizer,'_ Rikako was about to point out, but then she stopped herself from saying anymore, realizing that she would probably embarrass him, and remembering her resolution to be nice. "Sorry, I was just kidding," she said while stuffing another dumpling in her mouth.

Kakashi noticed that all this time, she had not looked at him, even though he was sitting right next to her. That meant she did not want to give anything away, that her friends did not know, and she didn't want them to know. Despite having earlier reservations, now he was annoyed that she didn't want people to know, that she was probably embarrassed by their relationship. He boldly put his arm around her shoulders to claim her as his.

The moved surprised her and the others at the table. Her ex-teammates had heard rumors, but they didn't believe them and ignored them as not possibly being true in a million years. Why would Rikako, who had shown no interest in men, or women, suddenly be involved with her former sensei? But now, seeing that it was true, it did make sense, she must have had a crush on him all these years.

Rikako ignored the arm around her shoulders and continued to chew her food thoroughly, but she could not control the telltale red that crept over her face. Takeo broke the tension by suggesting, "Hey what about that new movie? It's rated R. We're all old enough to see it now. And Kakashi-sensei, it seems like something you'd like."

There were a few chuckles around the table. But Rikako now blushed deeply, wishing very badly that Kakashi didn't have such a reputation. Kakashi shrugged non-committedly. He had planned to ask Rikako to see the movie, but didn't expect any double or triple dating, especially with his other ex-genin.

But Rikako then said, "I'm afraid I'll be very busy for a while. Lots of catching up to do."

To her relief, the others felt the couple needed their private time or maybe they wanted private time for themselves, but the party soon broke up and she was left alone with Kakashi. Kenji left with his date to settle the bill with his parents, who still charged him though at a discount, and Takeo left with his date to buy movie tickets.

"So how did it go with your parents and the Hokage?" Kakashi asked while thinking how badly he wanted to leave now and return to the privacy of his home.

"Well enough," she replied evasively. "My parents were really happy to see me. They still hate you," she added bluntly. "The Hokage has confined me to the village for awhile. Sort of like house arrest I guess. No external missions. I'll be teaching advanced field first aid and I'm on substitute duty at the academy, and the hospital, and assigned to library duty, late shift."

"I see Sandaime is working you extra hard."

"He's fair enough," she shrugged.

"Are you free the rest of tonight?"

"Why? Do you have something planned?" she asked expecting a movie or play or concert.

"Yeah, I thought we could go back to my place and have an encore of yesterday's…"

"That's really all you men think about isn't it?" she sighed. '_So much for romance.'_

"Pretty much, when we're not on a mission. Well, sometimes during a mission too…"

'_Is this it? Is this all there is to a relationship? Is that all he wants from me? Just because I slept with him again...No, that's just the way he likes to act. He'd be as happy just to sit around watching TV or reading together…for a while…I think…' _

After buying him a take-out order of dumpling soup noodles, because she knew he had not eaten, despite her misgivings she walked along with him back to his place, not so much because she wanted to but because he wanted to and she had resolved to fit into his world.'_I will be what he wants me to be. Someone who understands him, who won't try to change him... Sigh, I just wish he'd stop reading smut in public.'_

Her ready compliance surprised him. For her to fall so easily back into his arms…he had expected a period of trials, some time to regain each others' trust. But hey, who was he question the ways of women.

-…-…-

_Author's Notes: Next chapter is set in the present. _


	4. The Replacement Eye

_**The Replacement Eye**_

Kakashi finally arrived at the Hokage's administrative building. The trip seemed like hours rather than just minutes thanks to the multitude of thoughts vying for his attention. He brushed by the receptionist without a word, caught a stray thought of her fantasy (in bed with Kakashi), and ran into Sandaime's office directly.

"Hokage-sama, this is an emergency! Otori Rikako has gone missing again, this time it's seriously serious!" reported the usually unflappable shinobi.

"What happened Kakashi?" asked Sandaime calmly, but raising his eyebrows.

Kakashi was so furious, he could not express his anger at her act in words. He lifted his forehead protector. Sandaime stared at his eyes - eyes that almost matched.

"Your sharingan? She stole your sharingan!" The Hokage's pipe fell from his mouth and onto his lap. He swore quietly and got up to brush the tobacco and ashes from his white robes. Finally he sat back down and said pensively, "I had a feeling she was hiding something during our interview. She was rather evasive when I asked about her time in Thunder Country. I had people watch her for a while but she seemed to be adjusting well…but still… to steal your sharingan was unexpected…"

"Do you think she's using it to prove her loyalty to Hidden Cloud Village?" Kakashi thought about how Rokushou Aoi had stolen the Raijin sword and the Sealed Scroll to buy his way into Rain Village, and how Mizuki had tried to get Naruto to steal the Sealed Scroll to prove his worth to Orochimaru.

"Possibly…but…you didn't do anything to piss her off did you?" Sandaime gave him an appraising look.

-…-…-

The old Hokage called a meeting of the Anbu captains after finding out the specifics of the theft. He issued a directive to bring Otori Rikako back alive with eyes intact. The Anbu captains were not happy; that restriction made their job a lot more difficult. It was much easier to kill than capture someone, and they could dispose of the body and not have to carry it back to the village.

"I don't know much about her powers except she admitted to the ability of mind scans upon physical contact. But such powers are usually coupled by other mental powers. Based on Kakashi's experiences, chances are she'll know you're coming. She may even know what you plan to do as soon as you think it. Remember to keep your mind blocks up. I don't know her strong her powers are or how truthful she was when she admitted them to me..." Sandaime looked over at Kakashi, but Kakashi had nothing to add. She probably had not been truthful to him either. But then he remembered the conversation he overheard between her and her father.

"She claimed she could kill with a thought. But I doubt that's true. She was probably just bluffing, probably." Kakashi analyzed, '_After all, if she could kill with a thought, then she could have killed me or at least knock me unconscious to steal my eye, but she fought me and used her senbon to paralyze me. But maybe that's because her power would have caused damage to my sharingan…'_

Murmurs rose from the Anbu. Now they were even less happy.

Sandaime sent most of the platoons toward Thunder Country, where she was most likely headed, and the rest to the borders of other countries, just in case. He also forbade Kakashi to pursue her. "Leave it to the Anbu. You're too emotionally involved. And now that you don't have your sharingan…" Sandaime stopped speaking because he meant to say "…you're not much better than the other Anbu captains…" and Kakashi was already upset enough.

-…-…-…-

'_I know her better than anyone on the Anbu. I can convince her to come back – whatever happened we can fix it. Pakkun and I can handle this,_' Kakashi thought in defiance of Sandaime's orders. He ran toward the immense main gates of Konoha while again trying to ignore the thoughts popping in and out of his head. It seemed when the thoughts were specifically about him, and especially if they were negative, they were far more likely to be detected.

'_Poor Kakashi, lost his sharingan. What's he going to do now, Mr. Bigshot.' _

'_That bastard, what did he do this time? She was such a nice girl.''_

'_Never get involve with a pervert like that. No surprise that she ran off.'_

'_He must have paid more attention to his porn than to her.'_

'_Kakashi no sharingan…hah! More like no sharingan Kakashi!'_

'_That must be a record, two genin becoming missing-nin. He must be the worst sensei ever.'_

'_Why does everyone think it's my fault? What has she been telling people?_ _Geez… word travels fast around here. Damn shinobi gossip! How do I turn this thing off? It's much worse than my sharingan,'_ Kakashi thought in irritation.

But when he approached the tall wooden doors, Gai appeared in front of him, with his green Gumby arms outstretched, barring Kakashi's way.

"Sorry Kakashi, Hokage-sama has given me explicit orders to prevent you from leaving the village."

"I'm just going for a walk. You're free to accompany me," the gray haired shinobi responded casually.

"Nice try, but I'm not as dumb as I look… er…I mean I'm smarter than I look…er…I mean…You can't leave! How could you, Kakashi? Bad enough you took advantage of such a beautiful young flower, but instead of encouraging her to grow under the warmth of love, you trampled her like dirt!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Kakashi retorted, annoyed at Gai's presence.

"What did you do to piss her off?"

Kakashi sighed at the unjust accusation. "Look, I'm going after her and you can't stop me."

"Is that a challenge?" Gai's eyes lit up like a puppy about to go for a walk.

"A challenge?" Kakashi's single exposed eye started to roll.

"Yes! We haven't had one for a while…"

"Yes, we did, last week…"

"If you beat me…I'll close my eyes for a split second…" Gai offered, thinking how he wouldn't get in trouble with the Hokage cause he would most definitely win.

"All right…I'll name the challenge," Kakashi acquiesced, thinking how he could easily fool Gai yet again.

Gai suggested, "High jump? Sprint? Arm wrestling? Cat's Cradle? Simon says…"

"Odd or even," decided his rival.

"Odd or even? Something as simple as that?"

"I choose odd."

'_Kakashi must be up to one of his tricks to agree so easily. Odd must be better, unless he chose odd thinking I would think…but…' _Gai argued with himself, then finally said, "No! I want odd!"

"But I called it first," insisted Kakashi.

"You got to choose the challenge," Gai protested.

"Fine. I'll take even, you get odd." Kakashi smiled to himself. _'Even plus even is even. Odd plus odd is even. Only even plus odd is odd. I have a two-thirds chance of winning to his one third chance. And with this stupid eye on all the time, I should be able to hear his thoughts as he concentrates.'_

But Kakashi found Gai's mind was not terribly organized_. 'Right…odd versus even…what's odd? Kakashi's odd. His hair is odd, not like my perfectly groomed hair. His hair color is odd. His choice of reading material is odd. His mask is odd. Why women want him is odd…'_

Gai's thoughts were distracting and erratic, so when the two men counted to three and held out their fingers…

'_Odd! He's thinking of an odd number!'_ Kakashi held out three fingers for an even number, but Gai held out two fingers.

Gai won! He was actually thinking of what an odd pair Rikako and Kakashi were, such an industrious sweet girl with such a lazy pervert.

"Ha! Rival Kakashi! I win! The odds were with me!" Gai pumped his fists in the air.

Kakashi frowned in surprise at the unexpected results. The odds were not in Gai's favor but luck sure was. Her eye didn't help at all! The nonchalant shinobi shrugged. "Well, I guess fate is telling me to return home and wait..."

But then Gai noticed something was not quite right. The man in front of him started to fade. Within seconds he was gone in a puff of smoke. "Aargh! He tricked me! He left a kage bunshin to take on the challenge and now he's probably a good distance away from Konoha! Damn you rival Kakashi. By the Hokage's orders, my honorable and magnificent self will bring you back no matter what!"

-…-…-

While Gai was playing Odd and Even with Kakashi's kage bunshin, Kakashi was outside the main gate summoning his loyal retainer Pakkun. He ordered the little pug to find Rikako's scent, but Pakkun just sat there and stared at him.

"You mean that little kunoichi has run off? Like the other one?" the little dog ventured to ask.

"Well, yeah, sort of…" Kakashi admitted.

"Hmmf, I never liked her you know. She always looked liked she smelled something bad when she looked at me."_ 'And I use the best herbal shampoo!'_

"Well…she doesn't like the smell of dogs…but we're wasting time here. Just go find her scent."

Pakkun sniffed around until he caught her scent, very faint, mixed in with the smell of jasmine. He then ran off with Kakashi following on his heels. They wove through trees, circled around thickets, waded through streams, lost the scent for a while, picked it up again, and repeated the cycle. Miles away from Konoha they found a package of clothes amid a patch of jasmine flowers.

"She's always been a smart one," Pakkun evaluated. "Seems she's muted her scent and left her clothes here as a decoy."

"She probably changed into new clothes. Try again," said Kakashi.

But Pakkun shrugged. "With this heavy jasmine odor, my nose is overcome. And like you said, if she's wearing new clothes…"

"Try again!" his mastered ordered, then suddenly swerved to avoid a whirlwind kick. Gai had finally caught up.

"Nice, rival Kakashi. Took me a while to find you. I've been literally running all around Konoha! Now keep your promise like a man of honor. I beat you, so you must return to the village."

"Sigh, fine, just give us a chance to find her trail for the Anbu, then I'll return," Kakashi conceded, for now.

-…-…-…-

The trio continued the attempt to find the missing-nin's trail. Kakashi had to endure Pakkun's low grumbles and Gai's loud and useless suggestions. "Really, Kakashi, why don't you two concentrate your efforts along the eastern wall? Thunder Country's to the east, you know. That's where the beauteous sun rises, the east. Try the eastern wall… You know she can summon birds. Maybe she flew out of here…"

"If she had summoned a bird large enough to carry her, don't you think someone would have noticed?" Kakashi replied on the edge of sarcasm, with his patience wearing thin.

"Well, maybe she used some camouflage technique or cloud cover…"

"It's a perfectly clear day. Don't you think the watch tower guards would have noticed the sudden appearance of a mysterious cloud? Besides, several guards saw her walk out on foot. No camouflage, just confidence." Despite being annoying, having Gai around had a slightly calming effect. The one good thing was that Gai's thoughts reflected what he said. Unlike other people, there was no contradiction. He was just as he appeared, a simple honest loud-mouthed optimist who loquaciously spouted semi-poetic verse.

After an hour of running around Konoha with Pakkun and Gai, Kakashi finally admitted it was futile to try to track her by scent. She knew his way of thinking, knew his methods. She would have made sure he could not track her so easily. He gave into Pakkun's grumbling and dispelled the little pug, allowing him to return to wherever summoned animals hung out until the next time they were called. Kakashi also noticed that he couldn't read Pakkun's mind at all.

So what now? It was one of the few times in his life that Konoha's copy-nin was at a loss. Gai proudly remarked that it was a good thing he had the foresight to reschedule the training session with his team since this took so long. Kakashi then realized that he also had an appointment with his genin team that afternoon, two hours ago.

'_Damn it, I'm really, really late again and this time it's really, really not my fault,_' Kakashi groaned as he hurried to meet his genin team. '_I wonder if they'd believe me if I told them my girlfriend beat me up and stole my eye…''_

Kakashi found his genin team uncharacteristically waiting patiently at the training grounds. He was about to make up another pathetic excuse for his lateness when more thoughts popped into his head. Instead of being angry at waiting for him, the genin were looking at him sympathetically.

'_Poor sensei, I heard his girlfriend beat him up and ran off. Wonder what he did to deserve it. Probably found him getting too intimate with his Icha Icha books…' _That thought appeared to come from the girl.

'_Maybe today's training will be called off. It's already so late. I wonder if he'll be different now. Seems like he was in such a good mood for a while. He hasn't called me an idiot for over two weeks!' _That thought appeared to come from the clumsy boy who fell out of the tree a year ago.

'_It wasn't going to last anyway - he's way too old for her. How did an old has been like him get a hot babe like that? I think she's actually closer to my age. Maybe I can get her on the rebound...'_ That thought appeared to come from the remaining boy, the one who thought he was heaven's gift to kunoichi.

Their sensei forgot about providing an excuse and just ordered the genin to start the day's practice. But he called it short, thinking he'd get back at them later for their unsympathetic thoughts. He needed time now to figure out how to control his new eye before it drove him crazy!

-...-...-...-

Kakashi had been rushing around all day and now felt exhausted and defeated. He wearily trudged home, but on the way, various acquaintances came up to him to inquire about the day's events.

Kurenai said to Kakashi, "I'm sorry Kakashi. I heard what happened…"

"I'm fine, I'll get my sharingan back, most definitely," he replied with a shrug.

"No, I'm sorry about Otori Rikako. Too bad things didn't work out. It would be nice to see you settle down," she said sympathetically.

"Why would you or anyone else care about my business?" he replied brusquely.

"People care more than you think. You do have some friends you know." Now she was annoyed rather than sympathetic. One of her thoughts slipped through, _'I definitely chose the right guy. What a loser. Can't believe I used to be attracted to him.'_

"Thanks. Sorry I snapped at you," Kakashi apologized while thinking_, 'Hey I didn't know she wanted me back then – she was so bitchy.'_

But then Kurenai said, "No problem, I can understand you're not your usual self after what happened. But tell me, what did you do to piss her off?"

Kakashi just sighed and shrugged.

Even Iruka, whom he rarely saw or exchanged words with, said to Kakashi, "I'm sorry Kakashi-sensei. I heard the news, of course, and if you need someone to talk to…well, I'm available."

"Yeah, thanks," Kakashi responded indifferently.

"Such a shock, she was one of my best students you know. Never in a million years…a missing-nin." Iruka shook his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, well, you never know..."

But then Iruka's sympathy seemed false as a thought slipped through_, 'What the hell did you do to piss her off?'_

After being accused by virtually everyone he knew of doing something to drive Rikako away, and after hearing thoughts of those he barely knew, Kakashi began to doubt himself_. 'What did I do to piss her off?'_ he wondered. At first he didn't think he did anything at all, that she was just avenging her parents' deaths. But upon closer scrutiny of his life, it was little different than how his other relationships ended. He had in effect drove them all away. Maybe it was his fault after all.

The last leg of his trip home was spent avoiding people. Despite his exhaustion, he took the rooftop route. When he finally arrived at his apartment, Kakashi slammed his door in futile anger. But he forced himself to calm down and to concentrate on how to control the erratic powers of his replacement eye.

As one of the most intelligent, most knowledgeable shinobi in Konoha, Kakashi understood the fundamentals of doujutsu, not just of his sharingan. He analyzed all that he knew of her powers and of the long ago, near forgotten rumors of mind seekers.

There were the Anbu mind block techniques, and genjutsu counter techniques. By concentrating chakra around the brain, like a protective barrier, the incoming signals were muted and he could ignore them for the most part, like background noise, annoying but not unbearable. But unlike the byakugan and the sharingan, her eye was not light dependent. That meant it was not especially sensitive to the electromagnetic waves in the visible spectrum (necessary for the sharingan) or the ultraviolet and infrared regions (the byakugan's special ability). Instead her eyes acted as receivers for brainwaves in the extremely low frequency range of 10-40 cycles per second

Sandaime had suggested to Kakashi before he dismissed him, "She left you her eye, maybe you can make use of it." That was easier said than done.

'_If I can't cut off chakra to that eye, what happens if I flood it…will it burn out my brain? Or sharpen perception?'_ he wondered as he formulated his plan to test its abilities, as he had done with his sharingan decades ago.

First he placed himself in a meditative state, taking deep breaths and clearing his mind. Then he concentrated on controlling his chakra flow, envisioning the chakra circulatory system, the gates, and the tenketsu. By small degrees he tried directing additional chakra to her eye.

Alone in his apartment, with his nearest neighbors most likely still out, there were no more external thoughts invading his mind. But as the additional chakra slowly flooded her eye he began to see images and hear unspoken words. It was as if he were trying to get reception on an obsolete television set, where the reception came in and out, the edges were fuzzy, and the channels kept changing. He continued to concentrate and to direct chakra to the eye and the images became clearer. He recognized one of the images as his downstairs neighbor's wife. She appeared to be yelling and shaking a knife. But the words were not in sync. The words he was hearing seemed to be a recitation of the shinobi rules. Probably that idiot Aoba who always had problems remembering the rules. Now that he was thinking of Aoba, the image changed and he saw what looked like an old textbook.

'_I see…if I direct chakra to this eye while concentrating on someone, I can see his thoughts or rather what he is seeing. I wonder what's the range…'_

But concentrating chakra to such a small organ as the eye, was a very precise and difficult skill, even for Konoha's copy-nin. And as he did not know the chakra ratio, he was just fumbling in the dark, a relatively fit metaphor, so he had to try different seals and different seal sequences. He found that the eye's powers did not have a far range when he tried to focus on a particular person, but when he did not filter and focus, he seemed to see thoughts further away. It was similar to a camera aperture where a small aperture yielded better depth of field, but allowed in less light. Still, each attempt was exhausting and he could only control and hold the flow of chakra for a very short time.

The eye was the only tracking tool he had, and he had resolved to find her, no matter what

-…-…-…-


	5. Expectations

_**Expectations **_

'_This feeling of tension, of wanting to be loved, of being unsure how to act, of tiptoeing on glass, is this how it should feel? It's not like in the books with a feeling of happiness and ease. But my friends have someone and they're happy. So why do I feel this way? Afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing to drive him away... I am not me at all...I am different yet he treats me the same. I can be anything, anyone and he would still love me... because he was influenced? Can a simple suggestion be that strong? Or does it mean it's not the true me that he loves, but just my form? What is the true me?' _

As someone inexperienced in love, the young kunoichi didn't realize that what she was feeling is what it is often like in the initial stages of a relationship, where the parties involve tend to act differently than their true selves. In their need to be loved, new couples are nicer to each other than they really are. A couple may not truly know each other until weeks, months, or even years later. Most people wear one mask for their family, another for friends, another for strangers, another for lovers and many more. It's not until they reach a certain comfort level in a relationship that they show their true colors. So in this respect, her role of being someone Kakashi would love was no different an approach that many women and men naturally assume without a second thought.

However, unlike others, Kakashi remained as he was. He was on time more often but he was still late sometimes by more than an hour. He continued to read his scandalous books in public. He continued to laze around. He continued to wear his mask even while off duty. He continued to be antisocial. He continued his daily routines including visiting the shinobi memorial. His usual self had annoyed her in the past. Now that she understood him better, she tried to accept his idiosyncrasies. Still there was a part of her that wanted him to want to change, for her.

After a couple of weeks, Rikako found acting the way she thought Kakashi wanted was more difficult and against her nature than she had originally expected. She held her tongue as much as she could. She did not criticize him for being late. She bought him books she thought he would like, even ones with pictures. (The men at the adult bookstore had all shied away from her, yet peered curiously at her from behind the shelves. '_How embarrassing!' _But she did it for him.)

She found that he was nothing like the characters in the books he enjoyed. Those men proclaimed their love loudly in often outlandish fashion, going to great lengths to prove their love. Kakashi was indifferent in public, dispassionate except in bed, and did not give her flowers or any other gift without her prompting.

Once when she pointed it out the disparity (without complaining) he said, "Why would you want flowers? If I bought them for you and we met up for training, at the movies, in town, or at a restaurant, you would have to carry them around with you. I thought I was being very considerate."

"You could get me flowers when you meet me at my parents."

"How often do I do that? You know I try to avoid them. And if I were to take the time to buy you flowers, I'd be late all the time. Do you even have a vase for flowers?"

"No, but…"

"So why would you want flowers? I'm allergic, that's why I have to wear this mask all the time (_not really true but a handy excuse_). But if you really want flowers, I'll get them."

"Forget it. That's not the point," she sighed. For a guy who seemed so cool and experienced he didn't get it at all. Then again maybe he never felt the need to buy flowers for his dates who were happy enough just to be with him. But women always got flowers in the books so she felt cheated.

"I'll get you flowers next time," he insisted.

"It really doesn't matter. I'm just being silly," she said apologetically while still feeling annoyed by his insensitivity._ 'If I have to ask then you're only doing it because I asked, so it doesn't mean anything. Just forget it!'_ she thought to herself.

The next time they went out, he brought her flowers and she had to hold them in her lap throughout the movie. She decided it was better not to get flowers. She just wanted him to want to give her flowers.

-...-...-...-

Kakashi did notice that she was different. The cutting wit was gone, replaced by a diffident girl who acquiesced without protest to whatever wish he desired (mostly bedtime related) and who did not complain about his lateness or laziness or set any traps to punish him. It was certainly nice to have someone like that though it didn't feel quite real. But he reasoned that she was still feeling guilty about her attack on him and was trying to make it up to him. No doubt she would revert back to her old ways soon enough. The overly nice behavior was unlikely to last so he decided to take advantage of it while he could. Still, he did miss the girl he thought he fell for, the smart stubborn sarcastic one who would not let him get away with anything without some sort of reprimand.

The past couple of weeks seemed like a mundane fantasy of normalness - seeing someone on a regular basis, discussing his day and even its boring details. It was strange to have someone who worried about him, who waited for him to return from his missions, though she pretended not to worry, usually just sending him off with a carefree kiss and a "don't die" order. Not that he would on these low level missions with his genin. It then occurred to him that maybe she was being sarcastic about dying on a D mission which he could perform drugged up and in his sleep.

So what did he expect in a normal relationship? He expected to feel closer to her, to know her better. He expected to feel that he could trust her and tell her everything, all about his past, his nightmares and fears. But he found he could not broach those sensitive topics he had buried so long ago. And most relationships weren't founded on lies on top of lies, involving two parties who lived their lives with deception and in solitude.

And how was he supposed to act? He acted as he always did. Despite all the romance books he read, those characters were not real and he could not see himself behaving like that - so openly in love, so expressive and enthusiastic. That was not he at all. At his age, he was too set in his ways to change for anyone. But she loved him for who he was, didn't she, so he felt no need to be any different.

He was surprised when she asked him why he never brought her any flowers. He thought she was different from other women. She lived and dressed simply and didn't seem to care about material possessions. So why would she care about flowers and gifts? Men just used them to prove their love or lust in place of words or actions. She already had him - what more could any woman want? (He was the one used to receiving flowers and gifts from his numerous admirers.) And considering how critical she was, what could he get her? (He imagined her saying, "Why did you get me roses? They have thorns! Why did you get me a mix of flowers? They look incompatible, like leftovers!") Even if she were to say nothing but smile, he would be able to tell what she thought just by a slight raise of an eyebrow, questioning his taste, by the bite of her lower lip, holding back a comment, or even just by no expression at all.

She wore no jewelry of any sort, nor did she have any particular hobbies. All she seemed to like were books and he didn't know which ones she already had and gift certificates were so impersonal. So he ended up buying nothing.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, and the road to a pissed off girlfriend is paved with good intentions undermined by inaction.

But despite their less than normal relationship, it was the most normal relationship he had had in his life. And he was happy.

All that had happened in his past, all the tragedies that were still there forever in the back of his mind, they no long shadowed his life. There were now days that he no longer thought more about the past than the present or future. Even when he visited the shinobi memorial to talk to Obito it was about more pleasant things like how Rikako had another cooking disaster or some wry comment she made about the latest shinobi gossip.

But though he proceeded confidently, there were still times when he thought it was too good to be true, that it was too good to last.

-...-...-...-

_Author's Notes: I think Kakashi would not be a very goood boyfriend, lol._


	6. What Kakashi Saw

_**What Kakashi Saw**_

After a couple of days, Kakashi was finally adapting to his new eye. Unless he wanted to let thoughts through, the eye no longer received random thoughts. And he made an important discovery – one that would help him in his quest for his sharingan. He found an exception to the rule that the range of the eye was limited when he focused on an individual. When he thought about his traitorous ex-love, while concentrating chakra to her eye, he found he could get glimpses of what Rikako was seeing or thinking. _'This eye, it must still be in tune with her brainwaves even at this great distance, acting as an amplifier and detector. If I can use it…these clues…I can find her…' _

The images were cloudy and lasted for only a few seconds the first few days he attempted to locate her. All he saw were trees and bushes, most likely because she was hiding. There were no other landmarks to indicate which direction she was headed. The clues were obscured and he knew it would take some time before he would get a genuine lead on her whereabouts. But after a few more days of experimenting, he was able to hold the concentration of chakra to her eye for almost a minute, enduring the pain during and after the effort. The images became clearer and so did the words. Still it was a monumental effort for him and after each short session he would be exhausted. So only in the evening and on his days off did he make the attempt.

Finally, over a week since her departure, he obtained the first real clue. She appeared to be having dinner in a small rundown inn with a tanned handsome man in a short dark green robe. He had unruly brown hair that reached the nape of his neck. Mid-twenties maybe, hard to tell with his weather worn skin. He was wearing an X-ed out Grass forehead protector on his arm. Kakashi "heard" a snatch of their conversation:

"…that Kakashi, he's not that great, just an arrogant bastard with a fancy eye he stole off of a Uchiha corpse. Did you know he's so pathetic that his collection of porn has bookmarks?" _('Damn her, that's not true, all lies!' _Kakashi thought. He didn't need bookmarks with his near photographic memory.) "He's like a stiff in bed, except for the part that should be stiff!" ('_What! I can't believe she's saying this!'_ Kakashi was shocked even more by this betrayal! '_Next time I see her, I'll strangle her slowly with the chakra lariat technique!') _

_-…-…-…-…- _

"I have a lead on Otori Rikako's whereabouts. I…uh… saw her speaking to a missing-nin from Hidden Grass Village. She might still be there…"

"You know missing-nin travel around. She can be anywhere. Why would she go to Grass Country?" Sandaime countered.

"We're all assuming she returned to Thunder Country. She knows that. She'll know to go in the opposite direction."

"That's possible…but she might be heading to Hidden Cloud Village in a roundabout way. Maybe she went north or south…"

"I can find her with this eye, just let me…"

"No. Stay put Kakashi. There are others capable of…"

"They don't know her. I can find her, bring her back without bloodshed. If you don't trust me…"

"It's not a matter of trust, but if you're set on going, take Gai with you. He does have experience against the sharingan. You will need him," Sandaime contemplated. "But what about your genin team?"

"The chuunin exams are months away."

"No, are you planning to take them on this mission?"

"I would, but they're not ready for a B mission, much less an A mission, and speed is of the utmost importance." In truth Kakashi did not want his genin or anyone else to interfere, or rather to see him vulnerable. Gai was always in his own world and would not notice anything out of the ordinary.

"The two of you should be enough to retrieve her…but it seems she might have fallen in with another missing-nin…"

"If you can spare someone else…" Kakashi suggested half-heartedly.

"No, I'm sorry, we're stretched thin as it is. The Anbu have their assignments and so do the other jounin. Considering she has your sharingan, it would be ill advised to send the lower ranks. If she's alone, you and Gai are authorized to bring her back. If she's not, you must contact the Anbu in the area for backup. No point in losing two of my most experienced men in exchange for one. And you have one week…"

What Kakashi neglected to tell Sandaime was how keeping up the filters consumed much of his chakra. And just having used her eye for a minute, he was exhausted now and could not pursue her immediately. But he was working under the assumption that the closer he got to her, the clearer the images, and the less chakra necessary. Still, he would always be one step behind her, unless his luck won out and she stayed in the same area.

-…-…-…-…-

"All ready to go Kakashi?" asked Gai upon entering Kakashi's apartment, via the window, without being invited. As usual, Gai was ready before he was, but this time Kakashi was rushing. "A road trip, just the two of us, just like the old days…"

'_What old days? I've never been unlucky enough to be stuck with him for a prolonged mission,'_ Kakashi thought. He just nodded noncommittally and picked up his backpack. The two quickly headed for the main gates of Konoha.

"It'll take a day and a half to reach the border of Fire and Grass," Kakashi estimated.

"No problem!" replied Gai. "We can do it in a day! Right old buddy? Or are you really too old to keep up with me? I'm still in top form you know. Constant training with Lee - he's as good as I am now. Did you know he can open all the gates?"

"That's really something," Kakashi replied disinterestedly. _'Old buddy? Since when did we go from rivals to buddies? What has he been drinking?' _

"Of course Neji's also better than ever, been developing his own techniques, doesn't need me anymore, and now that he's been proclaimed the next heir to the Hyuuga I don't see him as much as dear Lee, but still we get together for drinks and chew the fat as they say. And Tenten…"

As usual, Kakashi turned Gai's constant babbling into annoying background static. He did not want to hear how successful Gai's ex-genin were and how close he was to them while he had failed with two of his own and rarely saw the others.

"…such a diligent lass of pure pulchritude. Never had a problem with her, though at first she wasn't used to such strenuous training after having been under your lax tutelage…" Gai was now apparently discussing Rikako, who had trained with him before she made jounin. "…always congenial, never late…really Kakashi, what did you do to piss her off?"

Kakashi's attention returned to Gai as he heard his named mentioned. He sighed and shrugged at the question he had asked himself for days. "I didn't do anything, that I know of. I mean, I was late for a couple dates but…"

Gai interrupted, "Lateness is not only irresponsible, it's an indication of indifference. You demeaned the importance of her existence. A serious mature flower like her should be given complete consideration. Youth is ephemeral. But love should be eternal. Yet it can be easily cut short by the vicissitudes of life. When either exists you must make the most of the time…"

'_Great, I'm getting love advice from him, Mr. Crazed Green Jumpsuit, Mr. Jolly Green Joker… I hope he doesn't talk about his love life. I don't know and I don't want to know.' _Kakashi then turned Gai off again.

'_Things were going well. At least I thought so. There were a few times when she was being a bitch, but just about all kunoichi are like that, 364 days a year, and I probably deserved it,_' Kakashi ruminated as he raced toward the border. _'What did I do to piss her off? I was only late a few times. Her parents don't like me, but that shouldn't have anything to do with it.' _He had thought about it again and again, repeatedly going through all the times they were together, and still he had no answer.

Gai finally turned his attention to the mission. "So you're sure she's in Grass Country?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, like I told Sandaime, she was talking to a Grass-nin with an X-ed out forehead protector."

"Missing-nin don't usually stay in their home villages or countries," Gai observed astutely (for him).

"No, but along the borders all sorts of shady organizations congregate," Kakashi countered.

"Hmm…you think she might have joined one of them? She doesn't seem like the type to deal in the black market."

Kakashi shrugged. He didn't think she was like that either.

"You plan to stop soon to triangulate her location?" Gai asked curiously. He knew nothing about her eye or her powers except what the Hokage had told him, and that was pretty sketchy.

"Let's just wait till we need a break. After using her eye, I get pretty tired."

"Ah, that's always been your weakness rival Kakashi. Not enough stamina. I can get to the border without a breaking a sweat. If only you trained as hard as yours truly…"

'_So I'm back to rival again…'_ Kakashi tuned Gai out again as Gai expounded on his daily training regiment including the preparation of balanced healthy nutritious meals carefully coordinated with herbal supplements.

But Kakashi had to admit to himself that Gai was right. He did not train as hard as Gai. He wanted to enjoy his downtime when he could. To Gai, enjoying life was training and for Kakashi it was his beloved books. Now he was regretting his laziness.

Well after the sun had set, the two men took a break for their only meal, to get some rest, and for Kakashi to attempt to narrow down Rikako's whereabouts. They camped by a grassy knoll miles from the nearest village. The two veterans didn't need to pitch a tent or make a fire. They had their weatherproof sleeping bags and shinobi rations. All they needed was some brush cover.

Gai observed curiously and kept watch as Kakashi went into his meditative state. He thought how peculiar it was for his archrival to still wear his forehead protector covering his left eye when he admitted that it didn't help at all. He thought how extra peculiar it was for Kakashi to still refuse to eat or drink in front of him even though they had known each other since the academy.

When was the last time he saw Kakashi's face? When he had saved Kakashi from Itachi (Gai made sure everyone knew that he, Konoha's Noble Green Beast, had saved the copy-nin of a thousand jutsu), he respected his rival enough to leave the mask on, even though Kurenai had begged for a peek. Gai thought long and hard (which was admittedly a difficult feat) and vaguely recalled seeing Kakashi's face only during the first few weeks at the Academy together. They were just four years old at the time. For some reason, he could no longer recall, Kakashi began to wear the mask and never took it off in public.

The old days were so different. Because of the ongoing wars and shortage of manpower, boys were trained early and sent to the frontlines. Kakashi was different back then. He was cool, confident, a genius, and he made sure everyone knew it. Obito hated him and so did Gai. When Kakashi graduated from the Academy after only a year, Gai decided that Hatake Kakashi was his ultimate rival. Uchiha Obito, weaker than Gai, also saw Kakashi as his rival. In later years, fate chose to place the Uchiha and the genius on the same team.

But rivals should be near equals and Gai was not Kakashi's equal back then. So that was his goal, to be the equal of Hatake Kakashi, the genius, the son of a genius. Gai graduated the year after Kakashi, close but not good enough. Not good enough to be recognized as Kakashi's rival. Kakashi barely glanced at him even when they were in the same room.

Gai started to challenge Kakashi at every opportunity, hoping to be acknowledged. Kakashi kicked his metaphorical ass. Gai's eternal optimism kept him striving toward his goal and every year he was just a little bit closer. His challenges were then sensibly reduced to once every quarter to mark his improvement.

Then everything changed with Obito's death and Kakashi's obtaining the sharingan. Any progress Gai made was wiped out and ignored in the face of Kakashi no sharingan, the copy-nin. Kakashi took mission after mission, without discrimination, without fear of death. But despite his great exploits, his rival was no longer the same, no longer had that cocky arrogance. As his reputation grew and grew, so did his humility and his withdrawal from society. Especially after Rin's death.

Dear gentle Rin. Gai smiled sadly at her memory. He and Obito had both loved her, but her eyes were forever fixed on Kakashi. What a fool Kakashi was. He never knew how to properly treat a woman. Not like himself, the perfect gentleman, the chivalrous shinobi.

When Gai finally felt that he was Kakashi's equal, even with his sharingan, it seemed his rival couldn't care less about the challenges. At first Gai was angry and took it as an insult, that Kakashi still did not see him as a true rival. But then he convinced himself, using his usual questionable reasoning, that since Kakashi still accepted the challenges, he was acknowledging him. It didn't matter to Gai that in recent years the challenges had degenerated into children's games. Kakashi was still accepting the challenges and their record was still pretty even. Then Gai frowned as he realized the record was now 67 to 65 in Kakashi's favor.

He watched now as his rival had both eyes closed and seemed to be in deep concentration. The gray haired shinobi's brow furrowed and sheen of perspiration could be seen on what little skin was exposed. His headband turned dark from the moisture. Bored with just looking at his old comrade, Gai thought about the girl they were pursuing.

_'Rikako with Kakashi...'_ Konoha's noble green beast was more than surprised when he learned about their relationship (through the shinobi gossip grapevine, aka Kurenai) - they were so different. Then again, maybe not. They both seemed to like reading a lot, though their choice of books was completely different. She was smart and serious, punctual and analytical, much like the old Kakashi. But she also smiled and laughed a lot - something Kakashi never did. But she smiled and laughed in a way that always made Gai feel that she was smiling at something only she knew about, and that she was laughing at him. But of course that was impossible; after all, she totally respected him as her sensei, her better sensei, as she flattered him.

But she did not seem the type to beat up her sensei, steal his eye and become a missing-nin. She was always respectful. Given Kakashi's history and reputation with women, it had to be his fault. Shameful, very shameful to treat women the way Kakashi did. Gai recalled Rin crying and pouring out her troubles to his sympathetic ear. It was obvious to him that Kakashi did something to break the heart of the young kunoichi who was now missing. Maybe she was better off far away from his eternal rival.

-…-…-…-

As Kakashi concentrated chakra to the left eye, he felt the vein above it pulsate like a nervous tic. The eye felt as if it wanted to jump out of his socket to return to its rightful owner. After a while, the darkness filled with colorful static. Then he made out an image that slowly stabilized. The sound came next as the eye tuned into her brainwaves. Through her point of view, he saw that she was talking to another man, hideously scarred on one side. He looked as if he caught a fireball in his face. The surface looked waxy as the skin folded in on itself like rippling waves. It gave Kakashi a small measure of satisfaction that this man was more than just ugly, he was disturbingly repulsive, much unlike the handsome young stranger he saw her talking to before. Rikako and the man appeared to be discussing a job, a burglary, where she was supposed to keep watch. Apparently she had fallen in with one of those nefarious groups working along the borders transporting black market goods, doing dirty jobs Konoha turned down. But she was still alive, and it seemed she still had his eye.

Soon the pressure from the flood of chakra caused the entire area to throb in pain and he had to stop. But now he knew they were closer. The image he obtained was clearer this time and he had used a bit less chakra than usual, but the pain was greater, almost like feedback where the brainwaves rebounded and echoed back. He stopped the concentration of chakra to her eye and the pain gradually subsided. "We're going the right way. I can tell she's closer and she's joined up with a gang of some sort. Can't tell if they're shinobi or just regular thugs."

"Yes! Let's go Kakashi before the trail gets cold!"

"I told you I can't move for a while after I use her eye. Just give me a break okay," Kakashi sighed.

Gai gave him the thumbs up. "You rest old buddy while I keep watch. I'm still good for many more hours. Rest all you want. We'll make up the time tomorrow!"

"Yeah," his eternal rival gave him a weak but grateful smile from under his mask.

-…-…-…-…-

_Author's Notes: I find writing for Gai, especially serious Gai, very difficult, so any feedback is appreciated._


	7. Tests

_Author's Notes: I usually don't like to do this, butI feel I have to request reviews for this story which takes much much more effort to compose compared to my ninja nurse story (I'm working on both alternately). For every hour I work on that story, it takes me 10 hours on this one since this is psychologically and structurally more complicated. But my other story gets nearly ten times more hits!_

_Special Thanks to Uzumaki Phoenix for her reviews which encourage me and let me know someone is reading/hopefully enjoying this. _

* * *

_**Tests**_

"I can be whoever you want me to be," Rikako whispered in her lover's ear. As soon as Kakashi had closed the door behind them, he stripped off his clothes at lightning speed and pressed his body up against hers, which was now pressed uncomfortably against the door. She did not even get the chance to take off her sandals. What she really wanted was a nice quiet evening reading on the couch, but every time she came over to his place, his first move was to remove his clothes and then hers. '_How annoying, but if this is want he wants, mind as well make it more interesting...'_

"I don't want anyone else but you," Kakashi insisted. It was a cautious answer. He knew women liked to test men. If he were to ask her to transform to one of the other kunoichi or any other woman, he knew she would be jealous.

"But they say variety is the spice of life and men like variety. Really it's okay. I don't have a problem with it." The trick to keeping a relationship fresh was variety, according to the manuals she read.

"No, I'm happy with just you." _'I'm not stupid enough to fall into that trap!'_

Heedless of his words, Rikako transformed into an especially endowed woman with long pink hair and blue green eyes, wearing nothing but a few wisps of clouds.

Kakashi's jaw dropped (since he had removed his mask, it was not present to hold up his jaw). "You really think I'm a pervert don't you? Just because you were my student doesn't mean I had a thing for any other!"

"No, but maybe just the female ones? You can't tell me you never thought of it." _'All men are perverts!'_

He couldn't deny that. "Really, I just want you…"

"What about the girl on your team, the one with the striped cheeks?"

Kakashi said nothing.

Rikako transformed to a barely clothed adult version of Rin, like the one she saw in his memories.

His body stiffened, and not in an amorous way. His voice turned arctic. Kakashi sternly ordered, "Stop that right now. Just stop it. Don't do that ever again."

He had failed the test after all.

-…-…-

"Stay the night? I know you're off duty tomorrow," he asked her as he continued to lick her ear while pinning her nude body against the mattress.

"Yes, but I have several projects I want to complete. Finding time for my own research has been hard you know." She was trying hard to disengage herself from his embrace.

"Time off should be time off you know."

"No, time off is time available to pursue further training, join committees…"

"Just tonight?" he gave her that look, hypnotically seductive with his heavy lidded eyes.

She sighed and nodded, mentally readjusting her schedule for tomorrow.

Kakashi smiled and laughingly told her, "I love you. It's really not just the sex." It was the first time he dared to use those words since her return.

After nearly three weeks he felt certain that she would respond in kind, but instead she asked him "Why?" It was her serious curious analytical why, not that of an insecure girl.

It was like the why he had used. "Why?" he would ask those who claimed they loved him, when what he really meant was "How could you love me when I can't love myself." Was hers the same why? A why of incomprehension, a why of what was love anyway?

Neither one of them believed in love at first sight, something that was solely based on physical appearance despite claims of an intangible element. So it must be something deeper that drew him to her. It wasn't something that could be explained and analyzed like a jutsu or something that could be controlled and commanded like a summoning. Love could not be summoned upon will, nor analyzed in terms of chakra ratios. So it had taken him some time to answer. "Because you are like me," he finally said. If he had said something more typically romantic she would have laughed and suspected it was a line from one of his books. But his answer made no sense at all and he could not fathom why he had said it.Yet for some reason it seemed to satisfy her though she still did not return the words.

That was not the answer she expected. She thought he'd say "because you're so beautiful," which wasn't really true but it was a standard answer, or "because you're so sweet and kind," which was even less true, or "because of your sparkling wit," which she was admittedly proud of; or maybe he'd use a line from one of his books, but this was unexpected. It was not a compliment was it? So to that answer she just nodded, and filed the thought away to be analyzed later.

His answer was important. She had to know why. Part of the reason was to compare why she loved him or rather if she did. She felt she did, but she wasn't sure and decided that if he could explain why he loved her, then she could draw from his answer why she loved him.

Then there was the question whether he really loved her or whether his feelings arose from the subliminal thought she introduced into his mind. Therein lay the crux of her doubt. She thought that if he could truly explain why he loved her, then his feelings were real. She did not realize that few people could truly explain why they loved someone.

Kakashi's ambiguous answer did not explain anything. He had neither passed nor failed the test.

-…-…-…-

"You know, you haven't really spoken to my parents since I've been back. You should come over for dinner."

"Well, your dad never liked me since the Anbu days."

"Yeah, he still thinks you're an arrogant bastard. I wonder why mom doesn't like you. I think she's offended that when you come over, you don't eat or drink anything. It's like you think she's trying to poison you or something. It's very rude you know. They've liked everyone else I've ever brought over."

"Huh?" '_Why does it seem like she enjoys telling me these things?'_

"In fact, they really like Iruka sensei. He dropped by the other day to see how I was doing. Very considerate considering it's been such a long time since I've seen him. I remember how much I liked him back in the Academy. He came over a couple of times to discuss improving the student health program. Too bad he's taken."

"Fine, I'll come for dinner." '_Damn, she's good at manipulation!'_

"Good, I already told my parents you'll be coming tomorrow at 6:00."

"Tomorrow? So soon?"

"I checked your schedule. You don't have anything scheduled then."

'_Sigh, I was hoping to have time to mentally prepare.' _"Yeah, tomorrow's fine."

"Please don't be late," she said as gently as she could.

"No problem, like you said, I have nothing else scheduled."

But the next day Kakashi was running an hour late. He had an errand to run and was then supposed to meet Rikako for training and then dinner with her parents. He was still not looking forward to the latter.

When he reached the training area, she was nowhere to be found, but the experienced shinobi felt someone's presence. As he walked across the green field, he felt the ground give slightly. He somersaulted away just in time to avoid an explosion! When he landed a few feet away, he felt the same sensation again but this time he jumped into a tree. But dirt flew up, reaching even his face. From the tree's vantage point he could see the entire field. Now he noticed with his discerning eye that parts of the ground had been tampered with. The grass was carefully replaced but there were slight bulges. Someone had mined the field with exploding notes.

The veteran shinobi hadlittle time to determine the safe places to land as the tree branches suddenly started wrapping themselves around him in a scratchy embrace.

'_What's going on_?_ I'm late but Rikako's been very tolerant since she's been back. Is this her doing?'_ He escaped from the tree and leaped back to the path he used when he first entered. From the periphery of his right eye he saw vine nets shoot out from several surrounding trees. Kakashi expertly rolled and dodged but the nets exploded into sand, obscuring his vision. He could not escape to the mined field or the enchanted trees, but before he could decide his next move, a figure appeared amidst the dusty fog.

Rikako smiled her half smile, only her left side of her mouth tilted up, indicating displeasure. "Didn't I tell you I was working on traps today? Oh, I would have, except you're an hour late!"

Kakashi sighed - he should have expected this. She hated lateness more than anything though it was strange that she had not complained at all for the past three weeks. "My errand took longer than I thought." He reached inside his vest and pulled out a box of completely crushed cookies. "Sorry I'm late but there was a long line at the bakery. Now your mom is going to complain I didn't bring anything."

They were actually on time. Rikako had astutely told Kakashi 6:00 but she told her parents 7:00. She had decided that to prevent any future arguments, she would just adjust the appointment times accordingly. She knew not to rely on him in a non-life or death situation. Yes, she trusted her life to him, but she would not trust a nice hot home cooked meal.

Kakashi greeted her parents respectfully with a slight bow as he presented the box of cookies, while explaining, "Sorry, they're a bit crushed but…umm…if you sprinkled them over ice cream, it's really good."

Rika just thanked him, took the box, and placed it on the kitchen counter, while thinking, '_The man is just too weird. At least he brought something. Didn't think he knew enough to do that. I'll dump it later. Who wants cookie crumbs?'_

Rika had made an assortment of dishes. She loved to cook and often wished her family were larger or that her daughter would eat more and enjoy her food more. So having Kakashi, or any guest, pleased her as she now had the opportunity to show off her cooking skills. Kakashi, as the guest, was served first. She presented him a plate with a bit of everything she had made: niku-jyaga (simmered potato and beef), tamago-yaki (rolled omelette), spinach gomaae (spinach salad with sesame sauce), kimpira gobo (braised burdock), etc. The dishes were also laid out in easy reach in front of all the dinner participants.

While Rika prepared a plate for her daughter, her husband started to talk about the recent news events, something about the debate over renovating the Academy or building an annex.

Rika observed curiously as Kakashi pulled down his mask to eat. Without waiting for anyone else, he shoveled the food in so fast, when she glanced back up, he was done, and Rika had not yet finished serving the food!

Afterthree weeks of pent up frustration, Rikako could no longer laugh it off. She had to admonish him. "You're supposed to wait until everyone else is served. And what's with wolfing down the food? That's even more rude than not eating! It's like the food is so bad you don't want to taste it!" '_Why can't he just act normally? I really want my parents to like him. Things are difficult enough without them questioning my judgment in men.'_

"Actually, it was quite good. My compliments to you, Rika-sama. I sure hope your daughter picks up your cooking skills," Kakashi said obliviously, after replacing his mask.

Rika just stared at him, dumbfounded. The man apparently had no peristalsis reflex. He was handsome enough but not so spell binding as to warrant wearing a mask all the time. Still if she were twenty years younger…

"How could you even taste it? It looks like you just poured it down your throat. Didn't anyone teach you any manners? And what makes you think I'd cook for you? I thought backward male chauvinistic shinobi were obsolete. Considering all you do all day is read your perverted books, you should be cooking me gourmet meals instead of buying cheap takeout…" Rikako continued to berate Kakashi while her parents wondered why their daughter would choose such a weird guy and how anyone could put up with her tongue lashing.

Kakashi just shrugged and bore her ranting in silence. He was wondering how long she'd be able to stay nice. If anything he preferred this real expression of emotion rather than the quiet pensive aura since her return.

But he unknowingly failed another test.

-…-…-…-

_Author's Notes: That's right, women test men all the time!_


	8. Pursuit

_**Pursuit **_

_**Day 2**_

The cold gray air, heavy with mist, indicated a thunderstorm was imminent, but Kakashi made his morning visit anyway. Kneeling before the shinobi memorial was someone he hadn't seen in a very very long time. Her shoulders heaved up and down and he heard her quiet, mournful sobs. He approached the figure slowly but was afraid to say anything less she disappeared like so much vapor.

The young woman finally turned to him with tears still falling from her large brown eyes, streaking down the stripes on her flushed cheeks. "I've been waiting for you," she said with a slight smile.

"You're visiting Obito, too?" he said. Obvious, but what else could he say to her after all this time?

"Yes, but I've been waiting here for you."

"It's been a while."

"Yes it has, hasn't it. I guess I've been avoiding you."

"I didn't want that."

"Right, you just didn't want me…"

"Rin…"

The figure stood up to her full height and faced him full frontal.

To his horror she was just as he last remembered her, with her chest cleaved in the center and her shirt dyed crimson. Her right hand reached across her chest to dig into the cavity. With her eyes fixed on his, she pulled out her heart, still beating, and offered it to him.

"This is and will always be yours…"

"No…" he started to back away, but she held it out to him and stepped closer.

"No…" he said again as she grabbed his right hand with her left and forced the bloody beating organ into it.

"Take it to replace your own," Rin said with a cold smile.

'_This is not Rin, she never smiled like that,'_ he thought, and when he looked back at the young woman he saw that the hair and the eyes were now darker.

Then came a stabbing pain in his own chest. He looked down to find a gaping black hole.

-…-…-…-

Kakashi woke with his shinobi uniform drenched in sweat. It had not been a restful sleep at all.

-…-…-…-

"You see, the reason why you have nightmares is because you don't have a positive outlook on life and you don't express your emotions. All your inhibitions are manifested through your nightmares. I never have nightmares," Gai said proudly thinking how well adjusted he was compared to his old rival.

"Since when did you become a psychoanalyst?" asked the masked shinobi, annoyed, but impressed at Gai's unusual insight. The man was not known for his intelligence. Not even close.

"Oh...well...I've had some talks with your...I mean...I'm just quoting Rikako," Gai admitted.

_'Great, not only did she psychoanalyze me, but she discussed me with others. How annoying! What has she been telling people?'_ Kakashi muttered to himself. Still he was curious and had to ask, "You're serious? You never have nightmares? Especially about the past? All that's happened in our lives..."

"Why dwell on the past? It's best to live life in the present, to the fullest! Everything in life is a risk. You have to take the risk with no regrets."

_'How simplistic, yet...life is not that simple...could life be that simple?' _

Gai had lost as many people in his life as Kakashi. After decades of war, who hadn't? Yet he was the same boy Kakashi remembered from the Academy. Always enthusiastic, always positive, always smiling, and always annoying. But if Gai were to die at this very second, he would die with no regrets, while Kakashi had nothing but regrets.

Did he regret falling in love? He had grown closer to her than anyone in his life, not exactly because he wanted to, but because she forced him to, she who knew the secrets of his past, who ripped them from his mind. Would he have gradually volunteered all that information anyway? If he really loved her wouldn't he have told her everything? Or maybe he could never love or trust anyone to that extent. Yes, she knew him better than anyone alive, well enough to plot stealing his sharingan. No, he did not regret loving her, he just regretted whatever he did that caused her to leave.

The two war veterans continued to pass the grassy knolls of Fire Country, gradually approaching the border between Grass Country, which was marked by large stone tablets at regular intervals and tall grass.

But on this second day, Kakashi decided to break early. One reason was because he was still tired from the previous day, after having a night plagued with nightmares.

"Another break?" Gai asked in surprise.

"Yeah, well, I try to vary the times I use her eye, more likely to hit on a clue that way. You know how she likes routine. It wouldn't be helpful if I kept seeing the same scene," Kakashi patiently explained.

"I see…all right we'll break now and continue overnight!"

Kakashi sighed and decided to worry about that later. They were close to the border now so they wouldn't be running at top speed anymore. They'd be going slower, methodically tracking.

Again Kakashi fell into his meditative state. This time the sun was still up and Gai observed how haggard his old comrade looked. '_He must be more worn out than he's letting on,'_ Gai thought, a bit sympathetically, after all, there were only a handful of shinobi who could keep up with him. But was there more than a physical change in his old rival? From all outward appearances Kakashi seemed to be the same as he always was, unnaturally calm. But how could anyone stay that calm? Not a cold emotionless calm, but a carefree shrug of the shoulders calm, like nothing special had happened at all, just another mission. Yet they were pursuing the woman that he loved, who betrayed him mercilessly in the worst possible way. Did he love her? Was such a man even capable of such an intense feeling? Gai thought how he had more passion in his little pinky than Kakashi had in his whole body. But then again how well did he really know his old rival?

-…-…-…-

The images were noticeably clearer. The static that had often obscured the images was now relatively minor. Kakashi was able to make out a large room with straw mats for bedding. The gray walls looked old with peeling paint, dirty smudges and crusted blood. He desperately hoped to see something that would identify where she was, but there were many people milling around, blocking any further clues. He saw her walking to the back of the room where a pile of scrolls and books were haphazardly stacked behind a trio of broken statues. She turned and entered another room but then the static and pain came back, the eye pulsed and the pupils contracted. He lost the connection. But now he had another clue.

"I saw a room with books and scrolls of sutra and some broken statues of Buddha or bodhisattva. There were a lot of people there but the room was in disrepair. It was a large room, capable of housing a hundred people. It might be an old temple," Kakashi reported to Gai.

"An old temple? That helps, but there's quite a number everywhere, destroyed and abandoned during the various wars," Gai said thoughtfully.

"Well, tomorrow we'll be able to narrow down her location."

"Tomorrow? You just need a few hours to rest, right? Let's go tonight!"

Kakashi's only reply was a tired sigh.

-…-…-…-

_**Day 3**_

His arms splayed, his legs together, he was pinned to a cross with kunai bloodily holding his wrists and legs in place. They pierced the fleshy area between the ulna and radius, between the tibia and fibula. The pain had nearly overwhelmed him, but now all he felt was numbness.

Blood flowed freely from his appendages, pooling at the bottom of the cross, a crimson lake. It was surprising how much blood the human body contained, 5 liters seemed so much more when it's spread out.

It was like the time Itachi had used the mangekyou's sharingan's Tsukuyomi attack. Except Itachi was not here in this red and black void. He wanted to scream but he innately knew there was no one to hear him. He was all alone, bleeding to death, with no one to save him or even to mourn him. So this was how he would pass from this world...

-...-...-...-

Kakashi's nightmares were becoming worse - stronger, clearer, more real, as they came closer to her location. He occasionally had nightmares, but not like these. These nightmares reached into the deepest part of his soul, pulled out his deepest fears, most sorrowful regrets, and intermingled them with current events, creating a false reality nearly indistinguishable from the truth.

The times he woke up in the middle of the night with her by his side, she would hold him, caressing his wild hair until he fell asleep again. But that was after she insisted on analyzing his dreams. What would she say about this one? A fear of death? No, he had never been afraid of death. One could not function as a shinobi with that fear. Afraid of being alone? No, he was used to that. Afraid of dying alone? No, the combination made little difference. Afraid of not being remembered? No, he was the famous copy-nin of Konoha.

But not anymore.

-...-...-...-

"Well, what direction should we head now?" Gai asked his partner at the crack of dawn. He had finally taken a real break and slept for a few hours as Kakashi kept watch after taking his rest first.

"I think we should head north or south, but staying within Fire Country's borders."

"Yes, I see, with that eye as a signal detector, it's like a game of hot and cold," mused the man in green.

_'Please don't challenge me to another game...'_ his rival thought.

"So which way?"

"Let's flip a coin, head north, tails south," suggested Kakasi as he took one out of his pocket. The coin landed on tails so the two men headed south toward River Country.

-….-…-…-

After only a half day's travel, Kakashi signaled to stop. He did want to go too far south in case it were the wrong direction. Gai busied himself with his training exercises while Kakashi tried to locate her. The static was back, indicating that they had gone the wrong direction after all. He could see that she was talking to the handsome young man from before about another job. This time it was an assassination. He could glean no further information as the static took over.

-…-…-…-

"An assassination?" Gai was more shocked than Kakashi. "Who?"

"I don't know."

"I can't believe she would..."

"Why not? That's what we do."

"She's a medic-nin! They have a different outlook on..."

"She's a shinobi," Kakashi sighed.

Still Gai shook his head in disbelief. Maybe he did not know her as well as Kakashi, but to think that anyone he had trained would become a missing-nin, an assassin for hire without a code of ethics...

He now felt that he too was somehow responsible. He had always tried to instill in his students the principles of hard work and believing in oneself, and advised them to make the most of their youth. How could one of his students stoop so low...but then again he had caught that flicker of cold determinationin her eyes, like what Neji had in the beginning. The old Kakashi had it. Uchiha Sasuke and his brother Uchiha Itachi had it. Maybe that came with being a genius.

Gai was grateful that he was never a genius.

-…-…-…-

_Author's notes: For some reason, I like writing nightmares for Kakashi._


	9. Separation

_**Separation**_

"A mission to Bird country? That would take a week back and forth... Can't you assign it to someone else?" Kakashi uncharacteristically complained to the Hokage.

"Sorry Kakashi, I know you have your genin team to train, but anyone else capable of handling an S-class mission is already on assignment," Sandaime explained patiently.

Kakashi sighed, to be away for so long, now, it just wasn't fair, but life was never fair was it. There was nothing to be done but to get it over with, the sooner the better.

It came at a bad time, at a time when their relationship was still not secure. But it seemed to him that she was close, quite close to accepting his feelings and returning them in full. He knew innately that she did feel the same, but he had to hear it from her, not so much for himself to be sure, but for her to believe it herself. But what if he were to leave for an entire week? Would she reevaluate her feelings and convince herself that she did not feel the same? Or would she miss him enough to realize he was the one for her?

But was he? Sometimes he still wondered what he was doing, what did he expect. A (not so) old veteran shinobi who had shielded himself from life, from relationships, who lived most of his life in a shell, living just day to day, mission to mission with no great plans for the future. She was young, had her whole future ahead of her, had no past to chain her. Was it fair to impose his love on her?

Love was a burden not a gift; he knew that firsthand. From those who offered him their love, he felt its oppression. His inability to reciprocate hurt them as much as any physical pain, a kunai in the heart was a faster death than lingering unrequited love. But this different wasn't it? Because she did love him.

Another solo S class mission. It seemed despite the new jounin promoted every year, he was still assigned them on occasion. He had to leave immediately - what else was new. But he should have time to drop by the library to say good-bye. Her shift should be over soon. He could catch her before she left.

At the library he saw her behind the main desk, talking to an attractive, well groomed (every dark hair was in place, unlike his own) shinobi about her age. He recognized the young man as one of Gai's disciples. She was smiling and laughing, almost flirting.

'_When was the last time she laughed like that?'_ He realized it had been a while. He couldn't help but recall the times she laughed with him, or rather at him, before he had told her about her parents, and a sharp painful yearning struck him. She didn't laugh as much now and when she did it was a small laugh, not her usual whole-hearted almost hysterical laugh that came at his expense. Though in truth he did not miss the criticism, he did miss seeing her eyes shining in merriment, her lips curling up in eternal amusement.

Seeing her seemingly happy and carefree made him hesitate to come any closer. When she was with him now, contrarily, she was tense and reticent. But then she looked away from her conversation and their eyes met. Her smile fell. He saw her say something to the young man who nodded in return and waved his goodbye.

The young man walked by Kakashi and nodded his head in sardonic greeting. The veteran shinobi nodded back while thinking_, 'I'm still good enough to kick your ass from here to the Valley of the End!' _

The cool ease she displayed with the young man disappeared, and she seemed hesitant. "What are you doing here?" she finally asked him. "We weren't supposed to meet till later. You're never early," she pointed out.

"I just got an S mission from the Hokage. I'm leaving now."

"Where are you going?"

"Bird Country."

"That's six days back and forth…you'll be gone for an entire week?"

"I'm afraid so. "

The news seemed to upset her and she bit her lower lip in thought. It was strange, this feeling, this feeling of constant tension and worry. _'Is this what it feels like to be in love? To have someone to care about, to worry about?' _She did not like this feeling of something constantly tugging at her heart. Even when she was with him the feeling was there. It didn't feel like happiness. _'Shouldn't I be happy if he loves me and I feel the same? Then this isn't love is it? Not love but maybe guilt that I don't love him, that I'm with him for the wrong reasons? I am with him because he needs me. For what I've done to him I will redeem myself and stay with him as long as he wants me, whether I love him or not_.'

'Well, the sooner I'm off the sooner I'll be back, right?"

"You in a hurry? Do summoned pigs fly?"

"When they have someone to fly back to."

She blushed - she did not like silly banter. At her silence he continued, "Well, don't do anything…like… the characters in my books while I'm away."

"You mean jump every guy or girl that comes along? I don't think so. That should be my advice to you. Well, you should get going. Be careful, don't die, all right?"

'_She still won't say it. Even now, when I might not return, she still won't say it. I thought maybe this time...' _So he decided not to say it either. "I'm always careful. Not dead yet, eh?"

There were others in the library so she just gave him a hug but held it a bit longer and a bit tighter than usual. He could feel her heart beat a bit faster and a tremor passed through her. "See you in a week," she smiled affectionately up at him, masking any concern.

"Right. Hey, can you wear that outfit when I get back?"

"Outfit? What outfit?"

"You know, the invisible one."

"Invi…" she rolled her eyes as she finally understood his attempt at a joke. "Just go," she said as she pushed him out the door.

It was strange having these feelings that she could not control. She worried about him; despite his successful mission record, things happened during missions. He may never return, not even his body. She did not like the sensation of panic each time that thought entered her mind.

She wanted to say those words, the ones he was waiting for, but she couldn't. Especially not before he went off on a mission with the possibility that he'd never return. If she gave voice to those feelings, they would be real and she could not deny them and it would make his parting more difficult, make his death more painful.

'_I should be immune to this. I'm a shinobi and death hangs over our heads every day. I should expect that he could die and not cry about it. I'll tell him when he gets back…maybe.' _

-...-...-...-...-

"I love you." '_No, not enough emotion_.'

"_I_ love you." '_No, too possessive_.'

"I love _you_." '_No, too obsessive.'_

"I _love_ you." '_No, too emotional_.'

"_I love you_." '_No, too enthusiastic_.'

"_I love_ you." _'No, too impersonal_.'

"I _love you." 'No, too demanding_.'

Rikako sighed. No matter how she said it, it didn't sound right. She went through all the permutations and emotions and it still wasn't what she wanted to convey. What did she want to convey? That he was the most important person in her life, one that did not judge her, but accepted her despite her faults; that what she felt for him was stronger and deeper than any feeling she had ever had, which actually wasn't saying much.

But not having Kakashi around calmed her in a way and allowed her to think. What did love actually mean? Not just physical attraction or camaraderie. It was something inexplicable and contradictory and not a particularly useful emotion. It was distracting her from her work and research. She found herself thinking about him when she should be reading the latest medical abstracts. It was really quite a waste of time. If she could choose to be rid of these feelings entirely, would she?

So was she in love? To find out, she picked up a copy of a magazine for young women, which advertised a quiz on its front cover. Secretly in her bedroom, she seriously took the quiz. After all, the people who created the quiz must know what they're doing.

Q: Does your love interest make you feel good about yourself, who you are inside, and the things you do?

'_Well, I guess that's a yes. He's nice to me. And what I'm doing makes him happy and that makes me happy, for the most part.'_

Q: Does your love interest accept you for who you are, flaws and all, and make you feel loved just the same?

'_That's definitely a yes. After all he didn't mind I tried to kill him a couple of times.'_

Q: Does your love interest ask you to change something about yourself because it goes against his interest, religious beliefs or social status?

'_That's a no. He doesn't ask anything of me really. Except for sex.'_

Q: Does your love interest support you in the things that are important to you?

'_Hmm…that's a sometimes. He's always distracting me from my research, saying all work and no play is dull.'_

Q: Is your relationship one of give and take; sometimes you make accommodations and sometimes your love does?

'_Hmm…not sure on this one. I make the accommodations but that's my choice.'_

Q: In your relationship, which one of you makes the most sacrifices for the other?

'_I do, but that's what I've resolved to do for him.'_

Q: Does your love interest make an effort to get along with your friends even when you know he doesn't like them?

'_Well…he doesn't like to hang out with people, but he did come to dinner that one time, so sometimes.'_

Q: Has your love interest ever given you an ultimatum in order to get you to do something you did not want to do, something that would harm you, another person, or is just plain mean?

'_No to that.'_

Q: Has your love interest ever pressured you to have sex?

'_Well…I guess sometimes, since there are times when I don't want to, but I do it anyway.'_

Q: Has your love interest ever pressured you to try drugs?

'_No to that. Wait…does that include aphrodisiacs?'_

Q: Has your love interest ever pressured you to start smoking?

'_No. Hate smokers! That Asuma-sensei is disgusting!'_

Q: Has your love interest ever pressured you to drink alcohol?

'_No, another nasty habit!' _

Q: Has your love interest ever pressured you to dump a friend who was not doing anything wrong or harmful?

'_No to that.'_

Q: Has your love interest ever pressured you to lie to your parents?

'_No. I lie to them of my own choice.'_

Q: Has your love interest ever pressured you to stop doing drugs, smoking, drinking alcohol, lying, or stealing?

'_No pressure about anything, except for sex.'_

Q: Is your love interest kind to you?

'_Yes he is kind.'_

Q: Are you kind to your love interest?

_'I'm not sure. Is what I'm doing kind? I'm not really a kind person. I think I'm kind sometimes, so sometimes.'_

Q: Has your love interest ever made a joke at your expense that really hurt your feelings?

'_Hmm…no, I do that.'_

Q: Has your love interest ever said anything about you to others that hurt you when you heard it?

'_No…I do that.'_

Q: Has your love interest ever physically hurt you?

'_Wait…that's not a fair question. This is a civilian quiz. He's hurt me during practice training. Does that count? I think I'll answer no to that.'_

Q: When your love interest has really messed up will he apologize without being asked?

'_Yes. He apologized a lot for killing my parents.'_

Q: When your love interest apologizes do you always accept it right away?

'_Well, I guess it depends on what the issue was and how sorry he acts. One should never accept an apology immediately. It diminishes the seriousness of the act. But yet he accepted my apology right away…'_

Q: Which of the following is NEVER a part of a loving relationship?

'_Hmm…this is a tough one. But I guess it's "Physical or emotional abuse, or pressure to do something you do not want to do" since it's a civilian quiz.'_

Q: True or False: an emotionally abusive relationship can be just as hurtful as a physically abusive relationship.

'_True. Psychological pain can be more damaging.'_

Q: Which of the following is NOT an example of emotional abuse?

_'That's an easy one. "Getting mad about something hurtful that one party has done." He makes me so mad with his tardiness!'_

Q: True or False: If you really love somebody you will WANT to have sex with them.

'_I'm not sure about that. I'd be happy just sitting and reading with him.'_

Q: Which of the following would be a positive change if it happened in a relationship?

'"_Quitting drugs, smoking or alcohol. Doing better in school. Acting more responsibly. All of the above." Obviously the last choice.'_

Q: Which of the following is NOT an example of pressuring somebody for sex?

'_I think it's "asking more than once." But that's sort of pressure isn't it?'_

Q: True or False: In a relationship it is sometimes necessary to make sacrifices for the other person.

'_True. Isn't this a redundant question?'_

Q: Which of the following is NOT an example of a necessary sacrifice?

'_Hmm…"Letting him cheat off of you" does that mean in a test? Or cheat as in another lover? I'll just pick that.'_

Q: True or False: Sometimes people change in a relationship and it is not a bad thing.

"_True. I've changed for him.'_

Q: True or False: It is OK to fight with somebody you love so long as long as it doesn't get physically or emotionally abusive.

'_Another civilian question. True.'_

Q: Which of the following would make you break up with your love interest?

'"_If he cheated on me." Maybe. If it's just sex necessary for a mission would I care? As long as he loves me only. "If he lied to me about something really important." Probably. But I don't think he would. The other choices don't apply but I guess I have to choose "All or any of the above."'_

Q: Does your love interest make you feel special?

'_What do they mean by special? I guess he does, sometimes. But he never buys me anything.'_

Q: Does your love interest make you feel important?

'_What's the difference between that and special? I'll just say yes to this one since he claims I'm the only one he's ever said he loved. But then is that really true? He's loved no one else? Or does he mean he's just never said it? It may all be a lie anyway.' _

Q: Does your love interest make you feel valuable?

'_What's the difference between that and the other two? I'm a valuable Konoha shinobi. I'll say yes_.'

Q: Does your love interest make you feel like nothing matters but your love?

'_Hmm…I guess he does sometimes. That's why we've forgiven each other. But our missions still come first.'_

Q: Does your love interest make you feel like a better person?

'_Yes he does. I think that's important. I want to be good, but it's so hard.'_

Q: Does your love interest treat you with respect and insist that others do the same?

'_Yes. He's quite respectful I think, except for the lateness. I really hate that.'_

Q: Does your love interest make you feel as if you would die if you broke up?

'_Die? That's pretty drastic. Why would anyone die over a breakup? No to that.'_

Q: Does your love interest make you feel like you can do anything you set your mind to?

'_Yes. He says that despite not having a sharingan, I'm excellent at learning new techniques.'_

Q: When you see your love interest unexpectedly how do you feel?

'_Hmm…I guess surprised and not always pleased. Usually it's bad news like going on that mission.' _

Q: Which of the following best describes the way you feel when the two of you kiss.

'"_Turned on like crazy." Sometimes I guess. "Totally breathless and euphoric." Sort of. "Worried that I am doing it wrong." Hmm…I think I'll choose that one. I've gotten better with various kissing methods he's shown me but…'_

Q: Do your friends like your love?

'_I'll have to choose "The jury is still out."'_

Q: Do your parents like your love?

'_I'll choose "The jury is still out" but I think it's probably a no.'_

Q: Which of the following best describes why you like your love interest?

'"_He is hot." True, but not the reason. "My friends wanted him, but I landed him first." What kind of silly reason is that? "We just connect in all the ways that matter." I'm not sure about that one. "We have lots of sex." That's true but not why I like him. I guess I'll choose the third one.'_

Q: Which of the following best describes what first attracted you to your love interest?

'"_Good looks." I'm not that shallow. "Common interests." We both like to read and discuss jutsu, but I don't like porn. "His popularity." No on that. "Something I can't quite describe." I think I'll choose the last one. He's got an indescribable charisma, sigh.'_

Q: All in all, which of the following best describes your relationship?

'"_Fun." No, we're both pretty boring. "Intense." He's as laidback as you can get. "Star-crossed." Yes that one."_

"Final score is 67. Lust and love are easy to confuse. The biggest difference, love is kind, lust is intoxicating. Based on your answers it seems like you are more in lust than in love."

"What kind of stupid quiz is this? Lust? I'm not in lust! How insulting! Who's the pop psychologist who designed this? I'm going to write him or her a letter! Stupid quiz, I'll have to take it again and rethink my answers…"

So the over analytical young woman took the test again and again until she was satisfied with her answers, or rather the result, which informed her that yes she was in love (she barely made the cut off).

-…-…-

_Author's Note: Quiz was found on-line via search for "are you in love quiz."_


	10. The Night Visitor

_**The Night Visitor** _

**Day 4 **

On the fourth day, Gai and Kakashi were back near the border of Grass and Fire, but further north toward Rain since they had tried to make up the distance.

They heard a familiar bird call, the warbling of a Leiothrix lutea (_aka Peking nightingale, or Japanese robin_). Kakashi recognized it as an Anbu greeting and warbled back in the secret Konoha code. An Anbu in a tiger mask appeared suddenly before them.

"Kakashi sensei, Gai sensei, what are you two doing here?" asked a familiar voice.

"Same as you probably," Kakashi responded.

"I see…we sent a message to the Hokage a few days ago. Are you our reinforcements?"

"We must have left just before Sandaime received your message. Did you find her?"

"Yes, but, we lost her again and…" his voice grew dark and shook with an undertone of something between grief and fury. "She took out my platoon…"

"She killed them?"

"Almost. She came very, very close. "

"Where did you last see her?"

"Tsukushi Village, 20 miles east of here. How did you know to come here if the Hokage didn't send you?"

"I've been tracking her with this," Kakashi uncovered his left eye to reveal the dark one replacing his sharingan. "Have you seen an old temple in the vicinity? It seems that might be a hideout for a gang of some sort."

"No, nothing like that in the area. We have to go. My team needs to get back to Konoha for medical treatment. They're finally well enough to travel, but…be careful. Her senbon are poisonous." With that warning, the Anbu disappeared, leaving behind a puff of dust.

"So now she's able to take out a whole platoon of Anbu by herself," Kakashi evaluated, thinking it was probably because of the sharingan's advantage.

Gai came to the same conclusion. "So she has your sharingan, things can be worse. It's not like you taught her the chidori," he said encouragingly.

"Well, actually…"

"You did what! Why would you teach her a lethal jutsu that shouldn't be used without a sharingan?"

"Because she asked," Kakashi shrugged, "but don't worry, she's inexperienced and not as fast as you. With your speed, you should be able to evade her attack. We can take her down together…"

"Well, actually…"

"Hmm?"

"I sort of taught her about the inner chakra gates…"

"You did what! A forbidden technique! How irresponsible…"

"Look who's talking!"

"I thought you stopped that after Lee…Why?"

"Because she asked!"

Kakashi groaned, things could get very messy indeed. _'Can things be any worse?' _The answer came down in buckets as dark clouds suddenly rolled in and the heavens' faucets opened at full strength. So much for any future attempt at tracking by scent. But at least they had a solid lead.

-…-…-…-

The two men entered Tsukushi Village while using henge. Gai felt they did not need to (he did not want to distort his beautiful face) but Kakashi explained that no one wanted to answer a shinobi's questions and it would be best to pretend they were civilians. Gai wanted to just remove his forehead protector from his waist but Kakashi insisted he at least transform his clothes into something more normal looking. So Gai entered the village looking like Gai in normal plain green robes while Kakashi transformed to a generic weak looking civilian with normal short black hair.

Kakashi showed a rather rough sketch of Rikako around town, explaining to people truthfully that his girlfriend had run off after a fight and hadn't been seen for days and he was worried about her. He offered a hefty reward. Money always got people to talk. They visited numerous inns and restaurants, but it seemed no one had seen her at all.

The two men decided to break for a real dinner and sleep in a real bed, so they splurged on modest accommodations at an inn on the outskirts of the village. Now that Kakashi was in transformation mode, he could eat freely without revealing his face, but still he ate nothing as Gai consumed his dinner ravenously.

"You really should eat something other than shinobi rations," Gai advised. "Sure they have all the fundamental nutrients, but real food is always best. Try some of my curry, it's extra spicy good!"

"If it's poisoned, only one of us will die," Kakashi replied seriously.

"What makes you think it's poisoned?" Gai stopped chewing.

"I think these people have seen her. They're just too afraid to say anything. Silence is probably the rule around here. If she's joined up with one of those organizations…no one will want to talk about anything related to them." Kakashi had lowered his mind filters and noticed that when he showed his rather pathetic drawing of Rikako, a few of those interviewed at this inn had pictured her in full realistic color.

"We cold beat it out of them," Gai suggested.

"Let's just wait…"

-…-…-…-

For security reasons they had asked for just one room. But the rooms available each had only one single full size bed. Their ready acceptance of the limited accomodations raised some curious eyebrows. The second floor room was simply furnished with a small desk (which doubled as a washstand) and dresser in addition to the bed. The toilets and showers were communal.

Both men were tired of sleeping out in the open with rocks and roots for pillows, though neither would have admitted it to the other. But despite the inviting comfort of a mattress (no matter how worn or lumpy, it was still better than the cold ground or a precarious tree), they debated about who should keep watch first. Gai finally gave in to Kakashi's reasoning so he went to bed first. Despite Gai's protests and insistence that he would be fine for another 24 hours without sleep, he crashed into a coma-like state as soon as his head touched the pillow. His loud snoring disturbed Kakashi to the point where he had to touch Gai's nose with a bit of chakra to clear out his sinuses - a neat medical jutsu he learned long ago.

Night came with its stillness, shadows, and secrets.

Kakashi had not tried using her eye today, but he instinctively felt that they were on the right track. He was now feeling restless. To keep his mind from dwelling too much on his love's betrayal, he took out his book, but it was a gift from her and reminded him all the more of his lost. He decided to put it away and take out his mission log instead. He had been lax about keeping notes as nothing much had happened during their pursuit, and his partner was even worse about taking notes. So Kakashi resigned himself to writing down, in code, what he had seen so far with her eye and their meeting with the Anbu. It did not take very long for him to finish so he took the book out again. It was a ninja spy novel where the undercover agent used women to obtain information. It was an interesting and suspenseful story, although it did not have quite the explicit nature of Jiraiya's books.

The two men had planned to take 4 hour shifts. They were to swap off at around 2am. The time between 2-4 am is the most languorous time, the time when most people fall into their deep sleep mode. Kakashi was barely hanging on now, but he resolved to let Gai sleep just a bit longer to make up for all the times he kept watch.

But he found himself drifting off a bit as he imagined, as he often did, what his life could have been. In his sleep deprived haze he thought of all those who had gone before him. What if they had lived? Would Rin and Obito be happily married and he'd be the outsider looking in. Or maybe it would have been Rin and himself. Or maybe if Obito hadn't died and taught him his lesson and gave him his eye, he'd be the one with his name engraved in the cold stone back in Konoha.

He imagined himself living a nice normal life, just teaching at the academy, no mask, no dangerous missions, returning to a good home cooked meal, a warm hug and welcome, and a clean apartment with no pending laundry. He should marry a civilian like Iruka did and retire from all this. It wasn't too late now, was it, to just turn around, go back to Konoha, forget all this, just remove her eye, and retire. He fell into a comfortable calm, thinking of how nice it would be, but a little nagging voice continued to call to him, "My eye, don't forget about my eye…"

Kakashi's eyes snapped open at the imagined complaint. Someone was filling the room with poisonous gas and it was only because he still wore his mask that he wasn't knocked out. The man of a 1000 jutsu immediately performed the katas to summon a wind funnel, which whirling centrifugal action condensed and centralized the poisonous gas before directing it out the half opened window. He quickly woke Gai from his sleep.

The enemy was good, very good, to have been able to sneak up on both of them. Even asleep the two experienced jounin could normally sense danger and the presence of an enemy's chakra. Kakashi clamped his hands over Gai's mouth before Gai could complain about how it wasn't his turn quite yet. Kakashi pointed at the door. At the very bottom a thin wisp of smoke continued to stream in. Gai immediately held his breath. He would be good for at least five minutes.

With his fist full of chakra, Kakashi smashed through the door at a low angle and caught a black fragment of a shirt, and plenty of splinters, in his hand. The culprit had already disappeared.

Gai spied the culprit from the window under the clear starlit night. The man, or woman, was fast, very fast, faster than even himself from what he could calculate. "There!" Gai shouted and jumped out the window in pursuit before Kakashi could turn his head to reply.

Kakashi jumped out of the window following his comrade. In the distance he could see the flicker of a black shadow.

"Damn, he's too fast Kakashi…"

"We can't lose him…"

Without slowing down, Gai bit his thumb with his perfectly white, perfectly straight, and perfectly sharp teeth. "Summoning no jutsu, tortoise discus!" he announced. After the smoke had cleared, Kakashi saw that his old comrade held what appeared to be a tortoise shell about a foot or more in diameter.

Gai picked up some more speed, then twisted his body around to gain even more rotational momentum, and threw the discus toward the runner who was now little more than a speck on the horizon.

It would have been near impossible for Gai to have hit the runner, and in fact he did not. But the disc landed very close, close enough to throw the runner off his pace. The disc crashed into the ground, causing a fissure to form, dirt to fly all directions, and the figure to stumble. Those few precious seconds allowed the leaf shinobi to close the gap to a more reasonable distance. They could now see the full form of the figure. It appeared to be a man, an adult, slender and tall, a runner's physique. The figure turned his head and the leaf shinobi saw that not only were his head and the lower half of his face covered in the same black material that clad his body, his eyes were covered by a strange pair of goggles.

That was as good a look as they got as the runner again gained distance. Gai had picked up his summoning animal along the way and warned it that it was going for another spin. This time they were closer and he could aim better, but it would be best to aim low, at the legs, so that the runner could not easily leap over it or sidestep it.

The parties involved had traversed the grassy terrain and now approached a dense bamboo forest. Gai knew once the culprit entered the forest, he would be slowed but so would they, and chances were the runner knew the paths within. He let go the disc with a prayer that it would hit its intended target.

The disc landed in front of the runner and he swerved to avoid it, but now the tortoise was not just an inanimate disc but in full battle regalia.

The tortoise stood little more than three feet high, but in each reptilian claw it clutched a kunai. The runner in his surprise, stopped and stared. He had to stifle his laughter. But he found little to laugh about when the little reptile launched itself at him with surprising speed. In mid air it retracted back into its shell and became a whirling pinwheel of death as sharp blades poked out from the holes in its shell.

The runner's mission did not include engaging the enemy so he chose to evade and run toward safety into the bamboo forest. The tortoise launched itself again, knowing its mission was to delay the runner as much as possible until his master caught up.

Gai was very near now and could see the runner clearly. But he knew that he would not arrive in time before the runner reached the safety of the forest unless his summoned creature…

The runner knew the safe paths of the forest. It was littered with traps and a misstep could cause the lost of a limb. But he entered with confidence, weaving in and out of the tall bamboo stalks, some that reached upwards of a 100 feet. It was an old forest, purposely planted, no longer maintained.

But the summoned creature with its natural armor thought nothing of traps. Such slight things like kunai and shuriken had not enough penetrating power. Even explosive tags had little effect unless in high abundance. It launched itself into the bamboo, whirling and cutting, destroying parts of the centuries old forest in seconds, while triggering various explosions.

Gai finally caught up and saw the destruction from his summoned creature, but no sign of the runner. The little tortoise rolled over to Gai and emerged from its shell. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to…" it panted.

"It's all right now that I'm here. You did a great job!" Gai gave it a thumbs up pose before dispelling his little summons.

Now Kakashi finally caught up. "No sign of the runner?"

Gai shook his head. "Should we enter the forest? There may be traps."

Kakashi shook his head. "It's dark. He may have companions hiding in waiting. They know this area and we don't. We're at a serious disadvantage."

"But he's our only lead."

"I still have this," Kakashi pointed at his left eye. "And we must be close."

-…-…-…-…-

_Author's Notes: I've always wanted to see Gai and his summoned creature in action. And yes I used to watch "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" but I never liked it much._

_I was trying to keep this PG-13 but decided to add the lemon scene in the next chapter so the rating will be changed to the R equivalent._


	11. Welcome Home

_Author's Notes: Rating changed. Lemon warning - albeit it's a "clean" lemon._

_**Welcome Home**_

'_Tired so tired. Should take a soldier pill, but don't want to abuse that stuff. Not good to rely on it all the time. Almost home. Straight to bed and sleep. A nice long sleep for 24 hours or more. Screw everything else,'_ Kakashi thought as he traipsed back home after completing his mission of executing four dangerous escaped shinobi convicts. The actual mission was to capture them, but they insisted on fighting to the death. There wasn't anything he could do if the target had a death wish. Sometimes he really hated his job, but it was all he knew, all he was good at.

He had run double fast to get back home at night rather than the next morning. Now his body suffered for the endeavor. He knew he should have taken a rest before returning to Konoha but he did not want to spend another night away from home, from the person waiting for him. He did not want to worry her a minute more, but right now he did not feel he could face her.

It had been a hard mission, not a difficult one, but one of those missions that after its completion made him feel empty and dirty.

When he neared the door to his apartment he instinctively knew someone was there so he took out his kunai in preparation. But this person was not bothering to mask the chakra - friend not foe. The odor of cooking wafted through the cracks in the windows and door. He put away his kunai and turned the knob instead of kicking it in. To his surprise he found Rikako in his little kitchen puzzling over whether or not eggplant should be pared and whether or not the seeds were removable.

"Welcome back," she said without turning her head. "I estimated that if you were quick to finish your mission you would be home tonight. Otherwise I was going to store this away for tomorrow so you can just heat it up. But I don't understand why you like eggplant. It doesn't taste like anything." Despite her calm words, her heart was racing. _'He's back, and he's safe. What would I do with this food if he did not return? I hate eggplant!'_ Mackerel and eggplant were his favorite foods to her complete incomprehension, but she had planned to cook them for him. Contrarily, he did not like sweets, which were what she preferred.

He came up behind her and hugged her from the back. Normally she would have immediately told him not to touch her until he showered and changed. But there was a feeling conveyed without words. She felt something different from him, something dark and painful, so she allowed him to cling to her.

It had been a particularly disturbing mission. It didn't get easier with age, if anything it was becoming harder and harder to ignore the blood, the cries, the pleas, the ramifications of death. _'Just make me feel alive,'_ he thought as he pressed himself against her. She could feel that he needed her, that it had been a tough mission emotionally, psychologically, that he needed peace of mind, a distraction, someone to hold onto.

She finally put down the eggplant and knife. The food could wait, but he needed her now. She turned to him and reached up to him to brush the hair from his eye and then she removed his forehead protector, which caused his lovely gray hair to tousle down.

She noticed that even his normal eye appeared red. It looked as if he hadn't slept in days. "You haven't been taking care of yourself," she chided.

"I'm fine, now that you're here."

She gave him a small smile as she slowly pulled his mask down and evaluated his face. Had the lines deepened since she saw him last? The crease that appeared between his eyes whenever he was troubled seemed more apparent. She then grabbed him by the arm and directed him to the bathroom where she immediately turned on the shower and let it run to warm up the water.

He stood motionless, too tired to move, as she slowly undressed him. First she removed the equipment belts and hip pack and leg pack, conscientiously putting them aside. Then she unzipped his shinobi vest and hung it up. The pockets would have to be emptied later. She noticed that his shirt was ripped and bloody in several places. She pulled his shirt and mask over his head and carefully examined his torso for wounds. There was one in the back that was still bleeding a bit that Kakashi was not able to reach with his hand to heal with channeled chakra. And bruises all over his body, especially prominent because of his pale skin.

'_You would think after all these years his body would be one hard callus, incapable of bruising,'_ she thought sadly. The gloves she had some trouble with as they were rather tight fitting so he had to do it himself. She slipped his feet from the sandals and scolded him for not taking them off as soon as he entered the apartment. The soles of his feet were black with dirt from traveling such a long distance. '_Shinobi really should wear socks.'_ Then the pants and underwear came off and went directly into the laundry hamper with the shirt. Unlike usual, he was so tired, he was not even aroused by her actions. She tested the water. It was nice and hot now so she ordered him in.

He closed his eyes, lowered his head, and supported himself with his palms against the tiled wall. The hot water warm his body, washing off the dirt, the blood, the sins he committed in the name of Konoha. _'So tired, I'm so tired of this life, yet there is no other possible for me._' He almost forgot about the woman with him. She had undressed and slipped into the shower behind him. That was unusual for her since she preferred baths - she did not like water in her face. But she made this small sacrifice for him, to comfort him, in his time of need.

First she placed a generous amount of shampoo into his hair and worked it to a lather. It always amused her to play with his hair, making it stand up with the soapy bubbles. Then slippery soaped hands slid across his torso, cleansing, massaging and healing at the same time. _'Another scar, poorly healed, he must have been tired_,' she observed every so often. She noted with pride that the ones she had healed were near invisible.

Kakashi felt the sting of the soap seeping into his open wounds, sharply reminding him he could still feel pain, that he was not some automaton killing machine. Her hands glided in swirls around his buttocks and reached into the deep creases of his body. He felt himself responding to her touch despite his fatigue. With her fingers well lubricated with soap she explored the inner recesses, moving her fingers gently within him.

Was this part of the cleansing process or was she purposely trying to get a rise out of him? He could not help but respond, quietly moaning and gasping as her fingers penetrated deeper and deeper, hitting the secret sensitive spot. Then he felt her re-soaped hands move down his legs. She ran her hands down the front of his legs first, then the back, then the creases between his thigh and pelvis, so close, so close to that erogenous area where he really wanted her to touch. She teasingly left that for last.

Her arms wrapped around his waist and her nimble fingers moved to the front as she pressed herself into his back. He could feel her ample breasts pressed just below his shoulder blades. Now he was at full arousal. One slippery soaped hand smoothly slid back and forth along his shaft while the other snuck down to grab its two little buddies gently but firmly, rotating them and cleaning them with the motion.

He had not moved from his spot just underneath the showerhead. The water continued to flow across his hair, down his face and trickled to the back. But now he was barely conscious of the hot streaming water, all he could think of was that adorable set of hands, small and strong, caringly caressing him.

He moaned more audibly to let her know he was close to climaxing. She understood his grunts and gasps and started to grip more firmly, and moved her hands faster. Despite his fatigue, he came with a powerful spurt, his whole body jerking uncontrollably, sending his seed in a parabolic arch before it fell into the water and spiraled into the drain.

She re-soaped her hands and cleaned his front again. Then she took the showerhead off and rinsed his hair and body thoroughly. He moved to obey her instructions to lift that arm, then the other, that leg and then the other, then bow his neck.

Finally satisfied that he was clean and not smelling like a wet dog, she turned off the shower and stepped out first to grab the towels. He wearily watched her as she dried off, noticing how precisely she did it, starting with her hair, her neck, her back, her arms, working her way down to her toes. Then she reached back to him to towel dry his hair before allowing him to step out.

'_She must have done the laundry for me_,' he thought as he felt the fresh pile of the terry cloth move over him.

He was nice and dry now, and smelled clean, of soap and only slightly of his own distinctive scent, a bit of a heady musky smell, male pheromones mingled with perspiration. She liked his scent when he was clean and not smelling like a dog. She knelt down to dry his lower region and smiled a bit as she took in the scent there that was different and stronger than the rest of him. '_I love the smell of him, the feel of his body and all its imperfections. All the little bumps and ridges, the patches of rough skin, the hardened spots, the topography of a difficult life.'_

The friction of the cloth around his privates sparked another reaction despite the languidness he felt after his release. But she ignored it and instead guided him to the bed, and made him lie face down. She took out a jar of medicated ointment from her bag to rub into his tired flesh, squeezing his shoulders with her fingers and thumb, pressing pressure points to relieve his tension.

It felt heavenly. Slowly, seductively her hands moved about his body, pinching, pushing, pulling his tired muscles; infused with chakra, he felt the tingling warmth penetrating his muscles, invigorating, yet he felt ready to fall into an endless sleep.

Then she leaned over him."I really do love you, you know," she whispered shyly into his ear.

"Yes, I know, about time you said it. I was ready to just dump you," he murmured with a smile.

His comment earned him a well deserved poke in the ribs.

He listlessly peered from his pillow at the nude form beside him. '_So she finally admitted it after all this time_,' he thought a bit sadly. After so long, he should have been over overjoyed, so why didn't he feel that way?

His thoughts drifted to a distant memory when another young woman had said those words_. 'I love you. Why can't you_…'

Back then he wondered how could _she_ love someone like him? He did not deserve to be loved. Did he deserve it now? Even after this last mission?

He had executed four violent criminals. One of the convicts he executed was a woman. And she had looked like Rin.

-…-…-…-

_Author's Notes: Stories that have veteran shinobi angsty about taking lives tend to annoy me unless there's a really good reason why after so many years they would suddenly get upset about killing someone. _


	12. The Forest of Traps

_**The Forest of Traps**_

_**Day 5**_

The two Leaf shinobi veterans returned to the inn to find their belongings rummaged through, ripped, and items missing. Not that it mattered whether or not they had sleeping bags or a change of clothes, but their remaining rations were missing. Luckily, since Kakashi was on watch duty, he still had all his weapons and equipment. Gai never carried much, preferring to rely on his strength, but his shinobi vest and hip pack, which contained a few scrolls, shuriken, and medicine, were missing.

"What now Kakashi? It seems you were right about the residents here knowing more than they let on. Should we question them again?" Gai asked while cracking his knuckles dangerously.

"I doubt if they'll reveal anything unless we torture them…"

"Why don't you use hypnosis with your…" Gai almost said sharingan. He was still not used to thinking of his old rival without it.

Kakashi didn't flinch. He had thought about how much easier it would have been to go around hypnotizing everyone to get the truth. Her eye picked up on thoughts people were consciously having but he did not know how to use it to invade others' memories, nor did he want to. That was a line he was not willing to cross, knowing how it felt, knowing how intrusive it was.

"I doubt if anything will happen again tonight, so let's try to get some rest. The sun will be coming up in just a few more hours," Kakashi advised.

"Right, your turn, I'm all rested and ready to go," Gai announced with a thump of his chest.

There was no argument from his comrade who readily collapsed on the bed with all his equipment still firmly attached.

-…-…-…-…-

Dawn's luminous rays shone directly into Kakashi's eyes, forcing him to wake prematurely. Gai had spent his time cleaning up the room, sorting out what was salvageable. His primary concern right now was food. The rations were gone and after all that had happened, he was wary of room service. It seemed they would have to do some hunting or pick up supplies in a neighboring town. Kakashi should have some food pills somewhere - nasty stuff, for their last resort.

On empty stomachs, they checked out of the inn, giving the manager dirty looks but not saying anything about the poor treatment of guests. The old man with missing teeth looked harmless and innocent enough, but he could have been involved with last night's shenanigans.

They decided to go back and survey the area around the bamboo forest now that it was light. Kakashi noted that in the past it was popular to build temples in the middle of bamboo forests to emphasize tranquility. Since they were looking for a temple it made sense.

The two shinobi precariously climbed to the highest bamboo stalks, carefully watching out for any possible traps. It was trickier than the usual tree climbing as bamboo was thinner and had the tendency to sway. It was worse in some ways than walking on water. A large body of water had surface tension and water did not move the way the bamboo did, unless it was during a windy storm.

The top of the tallest stalks were well over a hundred feet. They expected to see considerable destruction by Gai's summoning creature. But instead, the forest looked undamaged. The densely packed bamboo appeared to stretch for miles. There were no structures that they could see, no temple, not even a simple straw thatched hut. There was nothing in the middle of the forest but a small empty clearing. Anything that may have been there had long since been demolished.

"Maybe they're underground," Gai suggested after some thought.

"Possibly," Kakashi nodded. "Let's keep watch up here for a while. But let me verify with her eye that we're on the right track."

While standing on top of the thin bamboo stalks, Kakashi concentrated chakra to her eye and fell into a semi-meditative state. It was less deep than the other times since he also had to concentrate chakra to his feet to stay on top of the bamboo.

The image was clearer than it had ever been, almost as if it he were watching it happen next to him. There were no words since he was not in deep meditation, but he didn't need words to understand what was happening.

He saw her holding the head of a middle aged man with a beard, holding it by its topknot, presenting it as a trophy to the two men he had seen before, the handsome young man and the older scarred one. '_Those two men must be the leaders of the gang_,' Kakashi surmised.

Those few seconds were enough to let him know that they were very, very close and sadly enough to know the depths to which she had fallen. He reported both facts to Gai in his usual indifferent voice, but Gai knew Kakashi was hiding how he truly felt.

Kakashi jumped to the ground and found the path where they pursued the night visitor. He did not think she would mask her chakra and scent all of the time, not out here so far away from Fire Country. That would take too much continuous effort and concentration. He cut his hand with a kunai and pressed it against the ground. A puff of smoke later, Pakkun appeared. He was in the middle of lunch and had a large meaty bone in his mouth. He gave his master a very disgruntled look.

"I need you to…" Kakashi began to say.

"I know," Pakkun sighed as he dropped his bone at Kakashi's feet. "Take care of this for me, and no sampling."

"Be careful, this area is probably trapped so…"

"I know, just follow the scent where others have walked," replied the experienced nin-dog as he sniffed around. The little pug proceeded slowly, meticulously, as he caught the scent of Gai, Kakashi, and another. These were fresh scents, only a few hours old. The ground was still damp from the previous afternoon's thundershower and both the physical tracks and the scents were discernable. He moved deeper into the bamboo forest weaving in and out, a veritable maze. Kakashi followed on his heels while keeping an eye, ear, and nose out for traps while Gai stayed perched on top for surveillance.

They were more than halfway into the forest, or less than halfway from the clearing, when Pakkun suddenly stopped. "The scent of the third party disappeared here." He frowned, raised his head and took a deep sniff. "There's a great number of scents around here but…" He started moving again, but not following any scent, just trying to pick up a scent.

"Maybe he pulled the old backtrack trick," Kakashi suggested.

"Possibly, but…" The little pug started backtracking as his master suggested.

Something stirred, Kakashi could feel the disturbance in the air currents. The bamboo around them parted…

Kakashi quickly grabbed Pakkun with his left arm and spun around, throwing a kunai with his right. It harmlessly stuck in the arm of what, at first look, appeared to be a scarecrow.

The bamboo stalks around him twisted around themselves, braiding and knotting to form limbs, bunching up to form torsos, bending and looping to form heads. Buried armor and weapons rose from the ground. In seconds, eight bamboo warriors in iron breastplate armed with katana, surrounded him.

"Could use some help here, Gai!" Kakashi called. Normally he would have not needed any help at all, but in this dense packed bamboo forest with little room to maneuver, and the possibility of setting off more traps, Kakashi was ready to swallow his pride and later listen to Gai's exploits after events concluded. Pakkun was luckily dispelled.

Kakashi knew there was no point in actually fighting these puppets. In his long experience, they were always controlled by someone else, or something else. He had sense no foreign chakra and there were no apparent chakra strings, he evaluated as he dodged and parried with his kunai against the much longer katana.

Gai on the other hand seemed to relish beating up on the bamboo warriors. After so many days of no action, he was going all out. Gai literally tore them to pieces. But just as Kakashi expected, the pieces reformed and attacked again.

'_What's the point of the armor if it can reform?_' Kakashi wondered as he tried to pierce the chest of one of the creatures. Only the chest was protected and the kunai barely made a mark.

"Remove the armor from the body," Kakashi ordered Gai who was in the middle of tearing off the limbs of one of the reformed creatures. Gai readily complied and revealed the faux chest where someone had branded a complicated seal of some sort. Kakashi recognized some of the squiggles as the symbol for life. "Destroy that seal," Kakashi instructed.

Gai punched through the torso, sending splinters flying. He was ready to move onto the next one but his victim reformed again. "Hey, that didn't work, Kakashi," Gai complained.

"Hmm, it should've, I wonder why…" Kakashi swung out his left leg to trip an advancing creature. Then grabbed it from the ground, turning it in all directions, trying to find something out of place. He couldn't help but think that if he had his sharingan this would have been easier.

"It might be something inside," Gai suggested while ripping the heads off two. The creatures seemed to be rather weak and ineffectual, not worthy of the great and mighty Gai - until they exploded.

The puppets were a distraction, meant to engage the enemy in close combat, until the hidden explosive notes went off. This simple deception would have worked on civilians and lesser shinobi, but these two were among Konoha's finest, most experienced shinobi. The telltale scent of singed bamboo set off their instinctive reflexes to jump away immediately.

Kakashi and Gai cleared the area of impact, but the bamboo stalks they landed on collapsed as splinters from the explosion cut into the surrounding stalks and into their exposed flesh not protected by a shinobi vest. The two nearly fell into a deadly pit of bamboo spikes resulting from the explosion, but both men were able to cling to the sides of the pit with their channeled chakra.

"This might have been a wild goose chase. The runner led us here to a forest of traps while he backtracked and escape," Kakashi deduced.

"Now you say that? You're supposed to be a genius!" his comrade complained. "Another futile effort…"

"No. It's another clue."

-...-...-...-

_Autho'rs Notes: It's taking me longer to work on this story since I'm working on the action scenes -sob- if it weren't for the action scenes this series would be complete by now._


	13. The Night Before the Theft

-...-...-...-

_**Night Before The Theft**_

She crossed the line by saying it; there was no turning back now, but it felt right to give voice to those warm feelings. Still, it was hard for her to form those words, those three simple words which held a complexity of emotions. Although she had practiced them silently in her head, when she said them aloud, they didn't sound right; they sounded hollow, uncertain. But now having finally said them aloud to him, they did sound exactly right.

Rikako watched the uneasy breathing of the sleeping form beside her. Kakashi had been so exhausted he did not bother to eat but fell asleep right after the massage. Just as well since she still had no clue what to do with the eggplant and her earlier cooking attempts bordered on disastrous.

She had spent her free time during the week practicing cooking, in Kakashi's kitchen so her mother couldn't criticize her and give her unwanted, but quite needed advice.

To welcome him home, she planned to make an apple pie with a crumb topping. She followed the directions in the recipe exactly, but had extra flour/sugar mixture left over. The recipe indicated that two tablespoons of the mixture should be sprinkled on the bottom. That left another tablespoon. Waste annoyed her so she sprinkled it on top of the crumb topping mixture, which contained flour, sugar, and butter. But after the designated amount of cooking time, for some reason the crumb topping still was not cooked. The flour stayed flour so she tried cooking it longer. The edges of the pie started to turn dark brown but the flour still stayed white. Not only that, the book had not specified what type of apple to use, and she had unknowingly chosen a soft apple that was unsuitable for cooking. The apple pieces turned to mush upon baking and seeped out of the pan and all over the oven. Ultimately she had to remove the entire crumb top layer, thanks to the persistent floury taste, and the edges of the crust, so now it just looked liked applesauce in a pie pan. Not very appetizing but not a big deal since the pie was more for herself as Kakashi was not big on deserts.

But then there was the fish dish. Kakashi had made it a few times, a very simple dish. Poached mackerel with sliced ginger and scallions. How hard could that be? She had watched him do it. Boil water with a bit of salt to elevate the cooking temperature, and dump the fish in and wait till it's done. But to her frustration, she did not realize she had to ask the fish salesman to remove the fish scales. She thought they automatically came without scales. Why would anyone want fish with scales? So she had to remove the scales herself. With what? A kunai? A regular knife? She had learned to do it as part of survival training, but ended up slicing up the fish and removing most of the skin on one side. For the other side she used a potato peeler, which worked fairly well, but the blade became dull by the time she was done. Then when cooking it, she didn't know how long it would take, since she had no written instructions, and the fish looked pretty big, so to be extra sure she cooked it extra long (boiled instead of poached). Somehow it just didn't have the same texture as when Kakashi made it, but it seemed edible.

At least the oil, scallion, ginger topping for the fish was easy and required no cooking. Or did it? She couldn't remember. How was it she could remember complicated seal sequences but not something as simple as that? Did cooking come from the right side of the brain? She didn't have much musical or artistic talent either, so that must be it. That reasoning satisfied her ego. But just in case, she did cook the ginger and scallion in oil, but she forgot the salt.

When Kakashi returned she had been contemplating the eggplant. '_Why does anyone like eggplant? It's mushy and slimy and doesn't taste like anything._' But she resolved to make his favorite dishes and that included eggplant in black bean garlic sauce. The latter part was easy - it came in a jar at the market. But the eggplant…should she buy the big round ones or the thin long ones? Purple or white? Did it matter? She decided to go for the big round ones because they would have more meat and less skin. Purple because that appeared to be the norm. But do you pare them or eat them with skin on? She couldn't remember which way Kakashi liked them. Did it matter? And once she cut one open, there were all these tiny seeds. Were you supposed to remove them? Though she was well versed in herbology, and knew that eggplant vines and leaves were poisonous, practical cooking was another matter. Luckily Kakashi came back before she could make the wrong decision again.

She decided to stay in bed with him instead of continuing the futile cooking attempt. Though she usually felt it was unproductive to just lie in bed, she did like staying awake while he slept. He seemed so much more handsome, more manly, more serious, more intelligent, with his eyes closed - those heavy lidded eyes gave him the appearance of lazy nonchalance that annoyed her.

'_How handsome he is...but he's failed every test, every expectation…' _Kakashi had just about failed every minor and major test she had put him through. Everything from whether he knew what her preferences were, to being on time and conducting himself properly in front of her family. It seemed to her that he purposefully wanted to thwart her, that he didn't want to pass her tests, that he wanted to fail so she'd dump him. But that didn't make sense, or did it? Maybe subconsciously he didn't want her, that his feelings were because of the subliminal suggestion she had made so long ago. Or maybe his feelings were genuine but because of the tragedies in his past, he was subconsciously trying to end a relationship so he wouldn't get hurt in the long run. She analyzed him in circles and came to no definitive conclusion. It seemed he was a mystery and would remain that way… unless she… But no, she had sworn not to invade his mind again.

So what was this feeling called love? A secretion of pheromones, other hormones, and neurotransmitters? None of the books or articles she read could explain it to her satisfaction. In animals, the females were generally attracted to the more desirable males – birds with the brightest plumage, the strongest tiger, the largest lion with bushiest mane. But humans were a higher order with complicated brains and inexplicable thoughts. There were many odd couples in Konoha, even she could see that. There were ugly old men with beautiful women, with the reverse being a rather rare case. Even among the shinobi she knew, many seemed to be incompatible, or they should have been. There was that loudmouth Naruto with shy Hinata, indifferent Shikamaru with vibrant Ino, and her ex-teammate Takeo was going out with a kunoichi taller and stronger than he.

Then there was Kakashi's ambiguous answer to her question why he loved her: "Because you are like me." She had puzzled over that answer while he was gone. How were they alike? She made to do lists, planning every minute of every day while he could barely remember what day it was. He spent his downtime reading uninformative books while she spent it on research. He piled dishes high in the sink and laundry in the hamper, procrastinating until he ran out of plates or underwear, while she obsessively had to have an empty sink and half full underwear drawer. After some deep thought, thinking about the glimpse of his mind she obtained invasively, she decided he meant that like her, he did not reveal his feelings easily. He claimed he had never said those three words before, surprising for a man his age, given that men used those words even when they didn't mean them, hoping to get lucky with some naïve girl. So if that were really true, then he was wholly hers, and how could she not love him?

'_He's such an idiot sometimes, yet I still love him. Then why am I…_' She noticed his eyes were rapidly moving under his eyelids, indicating he was probably dreaming. '_Is it a good dream?'_ She hoped for his sake it was. To help guarantee that, she moved closer to him and started touching his body in long gentle seductive strokes that started up on his torso but ended below. From his body's response, it seemed it was a good dream after all.

But then his eyebrows knitted, and the curve of his lips flipped the other direction. A sheen of sweat appeared on his upper lip and his right leg twitched. He murmured something she couldn't quite hear. Then his body jerked away from her and he turned to face the other side of the bed.

Undaunted, she spooned her body against his, and whispered in his ear, "It's all right, I'm here with you, and I love you." She blushed as she said it, unused to those words, even though there was no one awake to see or hear her.

But he seemed to calm down and his breathing settled back into its slow regular rhythm. He murmured back, "I love you R…"

Her body stiffened, her dark eyes turned black, she drew away from him. It was the wrong name. Not her name, but some long departed comrade he refused to talk about. A ghost that still haunted him. He unknowingly committed the greatest taboo a man could make in bed. He called her by another woman's name.

-…-…-…-

_Author's Notes: This is an additonal motive to the original version. I think it adds an extra dimension to Rikako's motives._

_Kakashi's favorite foods are mackerel and eggplant. I like both but can't say they're anywhere near my favorite list. Apple pie cooking disaster is a real life experience._


	14. Success

_Author's Notes: Sorry for not updating for so long. My computer crashed and since my ninja nurse story is easier to write and more popular, I've neglected this. _

_**Success**_

_**Day 6**_

The previous day of surveillance and examining the bamboo forest had yielded nothing but bruises and cuts for their efforts. Their investigation at several nearby villages that they had not visited earlier also yielded nothing but sympathetic or ironic smiles. They had continued their investigation in a somewhat spiral pattern. But now in Tanpopo Village, a man said he did recognize the young woman despite the pathetic sketch. It was just about two weeks ago. She had stopped by the inn for dinner and caused quite a ruckus when one of the bar regulars tried to hit on her. It took several men more than half an hour to unfasten the man pinned to the ceiling by her senbon. Most of the needles pinned him through the clothes, but a few had pierced flesh. Those were the hard ones to remove. Kakashi noted to himself that drunk civilians should never make a pass at an irascible kunoichi.

Time was running out. Sandaime had given the two men a week to find her; they did have other responsibilities after all. They were close - there was no doubt of that - and it seemed she was relatively stationary. It should not take too much longer.

Kakashi had thought about how else he could use her eye to locate her. He decided on another experiment, to activate the eye via pulses of chakra. They were close and it did not take much too chakra to hold the eye's images for a couple of minutes. But if he were to try chakra pulses lasting just a few seconds, maybe that would better help locate her. It required less chakra, less concentration, and less stamina. The flashes of images would be harder to interpret, but he could probably sustain the pulses for several minutes even while on the move.

With that thought they decided to start fresh today. They were outside Tanpopo Village, about ten miles south east of Tsukushi Village. Kakashi slowly lowered a few of his mind defenses and sent chakra to her eye in pulses, looking for the subtlest of changes, as he started to run slowly in a circular path around the village.

The images were subtly clearer in the northwest direction of Tsukuchi Village and the bamboo forest where they were attacked. They headed back at a moderate pace with Kakashi stopping every mile to continue the chakra pulses.

But the images were more disturbing than ever. Some sort of ceremony was being conducted. From her perspective he saw the younger leader of their band approach her with a senbon dripping in…blood? Red ink? She appeared to be wearing just a short robe on top and her left breast was partially exposed to the point right above its aureole.

A mile later…

She did not flinch as the man pricked the skin over her heart with the needle. Kakashi could almost feel the burning sensation. The procedure continued as the man dipped the needle in ink again and again. '_What is he doing? A tattoo? Like my Anbu tattoo? Is she swearing allegiance to this man? Is he the leader? Or the other one with the scarred face?' _

A mile later…

She looked down to admire a fresh new red tattoo just above her left breast – it was the symbol for life. A sudden jolt of anxiety passed through Kakashi's mind as the man placed his palm over her breast.

There Kakashi lost his concentration and the connection.

And they were back where they started, right by the bamboo forest.

'_They must be here, somewhere, if only I could see… but not without my sharingan, but something about this place…_'

"Dispel!" he ordered.

Nothing.

'_There has to be something_…'

Gai had been unusually quiet all day as he respectfully watched Kakashi's tracking attempts, but now he finally asked, "Any progress? We're back where we started."

Kakashi responded with frustration, "I'm sure there's something here. It's just that we can't see it or sense it."

"Do you mean we're trapped in some kind of genjutsu? Aren't you largely immune to that?" Gai asked, forgetting again that his rival was sans sharingan.

"It must be very high level," Kakashi replied, pretending that his inability had nothing to do with his stolen eye.

"There have been reports of a powerful gang led by two missing-nin from the Grass and Rain villages. Do you think…"

"I think their hide out is here."

"We have to report to the Hokage immediately…"

"Not until we've confirmed she's here. I have to see her." A slight quiver in his voice at the last statement finally convinced Gai that Kakashi was not the calm emotionless man he pretended to be.

"Well, what do we do now? Just wait?" Gai asked.

"I do have another trick up my sleeve…" his rival said evasively while climbing to the top of a stalk of bamboo.

They carefully headed toward the center of the forest, leaping from tip to tip. The stalks swayed under their weight but each step required only a fraction of a second. The clearing was soon in sight. The two men camouflaged themselves, muted their chakra, and as Gai said, just waited for something to happen.

-...-...-...-

**Day 7**

There was only one thing left to do. He had tried to avoid it, but time was up. They had waited the rest of the day and night. Dawn was quickly approaching.

Kakashi was loathe to do it, but it was the last resort. This time he had to let down all the mental barriers, but slowly. He allowed the thoughts to first trickle in, before it became an unbearable flood. He concentrated chakra to her eye to amplify the clarity and details. Soon it was as if he were simultaneously watching and hearing many, many fully three dimensional movies. Each one corresponded to a different mind. These were the current experiences of those around him. He could not see them, hear them, or sense their chakra, but their thoughts flowed into his mind.

Despite being in the middle of the bamboo forest, with the nearest village miles away, he was clearly receiving possibly a hundred minds all at once. There were many minds, many more than he expected to be awake at this hour, and when half the barriers were down, he could barely withstand the barrage of information.

Even dreams appeared to him, in a psychedelic kaleidoscope, nearly nonsensical, sometimes horrific. Those he ignored. Instead he concentrated on the more recognizable images of faces - some eating, some talking, others arguing.

And one image of…

There were definitely people here, but he just couldn't sense them by sight, sound, smell, or chakra. Judging by the presence of windows he was able to make out, they were not underground. So why? Where was the building? Even a genjutsu should not last this long. Who had enough chakra to continue a genjutsu for so long? They had been waiting for hours. Or had they? Was it all just part of another trap? It didn't make sense.

But there was one thing that did make sense - she was there and she noticed that he was there.

_'Kakashi?'_

She sensed him and as soon as he realized her thought, he quickly re-erected all the mental barriers.

"There she is, Gai. I see her…" Kakashi turned his head when Gai did not answer.

He had felt no danger. No chakra other than his own and Gai's. They were well hidden and camouflaged - his last thoughts before a sudden quick strong blow turned his world black.

-…-…END OF PART I…-….-

_Author's Notes: __Tanpopo means dandelion_


	15. Rikako's Mission

_Author's Notes: There's something jumping back and forth in this chapter to catch up with the timeline. Hope it's not too confusing._

**PART II HALF TRUTHS**

**_Rikako's Mission_**

'_I love this man,_' she decided, '_for everything that he is and is not.'_

'_Then why do you plan to steal the one thing he has held onto all these years; his essence of who he is?' _she asked herself.

'_He is not his sharingan. It does not define him. He is himself without it. It is nothing but a tool and a keepsake of a past best forgotten. But after all this time he called me Rin. A maddening insult! I am not a replacement for some long dead mediocre kunoichi!_'

'_So you think you're doing him a favor? Or is it really revenge?'_

'_Can't it be both?"_

'_So you've made your decision?'_

"_Yes.'_

'_He may never forgive you.'_

'_If he really loves me then he will.'_

_'Then he's either a saint or a fool'_

-…-…-…-

Rikako had been back for less than a month. Things were finally returning to normal. She was almost finished with her shinobi memorial project, and the first aid class was going well. She and Kakashi were back to where they were before he told her about her parents. Her feelings for him developed genuinely without further guile. But then Kakashi had to heave on a mission.

During that time she received a summons from the Hokage.

-...-...-...-…-

They had had a long talk upon her return nearly a month ago. Or rather Sandaime pontificated while she tried hard not to yawn but listened respectfully.

"I know we kept things from you that you had a right to know. But as a shinobi you understand the security of Konoha was at stake. I could punish you for leaving Konoha without permission but what good would that serve. You have been a part of this village all your life. You are loved and valued here. Now that you've returned, I see no reason for you not to continue your duties. Of course, there has to be a probationary period and you'll have to assume a few extra responsibilities…"

Rikako waited for the other shoe to drop. There had to more penalty for going missing for weeks and visiting a tenuously allied country.

"Now about your powers," Sandaime paused and frowned. He looked at her seriously, no longer smiling.

She held his gaze defiantly.

"There are jutsu to seal away your powers. If that is what you wish. Having such powers can be curse, as well you know."

"You're giving me a choice?" she asked in surprise, but she knew there must be another reason.

"The ability to read minds is greatly valued in times of war when espionage is all important. War might come sooner than we expect, and of course there are special missions for which your talents will be useful."

'_I see, so I'm valued by this village just as another tool,' _she thought cynically.

"If you wish me to seal your powers, I can. If you wish to keep them then you must vow upon your life that you will not use them freely or the punishment will be grave indeed."

'_I can't see what he's really thinking,_' she noted to herself. And she noted that Sandaime could tell she was trying to read his mind.

He chuckled at her attempts. "Someone as experienced as I am, who is aware of your powers, will not likely be affected by them," he explained. "If you agree to not exercise your powers unless it's during a mission, then you may keep them. Your powers will not be advertised. No one knows right now except Kakashi and I. Any special mission will be assigned to you myself."

Rikako thought it over slowly. '_This power has been a curse. Knowing what people really think has made me keep my distance and I've not formed the normal type of bonds that other humans expect. But now I am able to control it. I can shut out stray thoughts. But can I resist the temptation to peek once in a while? The old Hokage can't fault me for that and as long as I behave myself, he won't know or care what I do as long as I am valuable to him and take on his special missions.'_

She finally nodded, bowed deeply, and replied, "Yes, Hokage-sama, use me as you wish."

-…-…-…-…-

She had behaved herself these past few weeks - minding her duties, pulling extra shifts at the library and hospital. She did not even complain about not being allowed to leave the village, nor did she exercise her powers at all.

'Hope I'm not in trouble,' she thought, but she had a sinking feeling as she hurried over to the Hokage's administration building.

She entered his cavernous office with some trepidation. There was no else present. "Hokage-sama," Rikako said as she bowed.

"Rikako, I know you've only been back a short while, but an urgent mission has come up. It's an S class mission, " the old man got directly to the point.

"S class?"

"It's an extremely dangerous undercover mission. You can of course refuse, but you are the only one qualified for it. The feudal lords of Grass and Rain countries are willing to pay an obscene amount of money to find out what a gang of rogue ninja is plotting. It's suspected they're currently plotting a coup-de-tat. The lords don't trust their own shinobi, there might be spies among them, that's why they've contracted us. With your abilities and intelligence, you are the best qualified. Think of a strategy to infiltrate them and find out what they're planning."

"I'm afraid I'm unworthy of your praise, Hokage-sama. In the area of intelligence, I cannot compare to that of my senior colleagues. I would recommend Nara Shikamaru." The mission sounded like a long-term one and she was loathe to be away for so long when she had just returned, partly because of her duties and partly because of Kakashi.

"He's away on another mission and we need someone believable to be a missing-nin. No offense, but you'd be the most believable jounin to portray a rogue ninja. It's already known in Konoha that you attacked Kakashi and disappeared for over a month. I'm sure that there are spies that have reported it outside the village. It may not be known that you've reconciled. Play up your Thunder Country connection. Think about it, Please give me your answer as soon as possible. This mission is imperative - all of Konoha may become embroiled in the after effects of a regime change. But don't try to take them on yourself. The mission is information gathering only, but to win their trust may take weeks or even months.

She thought hard about taking on a dangerous long-term undercover mission. But she knew she could not refuse. This was how her powers were meant to be used_. 'There must be a way to infiltrate them, to make them believe I would join them or believe that they need me to join them. But if a coup is planned, they're probably all dangerous jounin and chuunin. Maybe even higher level. How can I defeat them? Although the Hokage says it's only espionage, I may be forced to fight for my life. But it's an important mission. For Konoha and for myself. I need to prove myself worthy of his trust.' _

"Do you trust me then Hokage-sama?" she asked after she considered the options.

"Yes, completely."

"Then trust me to do what I need to do, no matter what."

-…-…-…-

_'Thoughts are misleading. Actions speak louder than words or thoughts. What the sharingan sees is the true course of action, the ability to predict your enemy's next move, which may arise out of instinct rather than actual conscious thought. If I had the sharingan…'_

But of course she didn't. Kakashi did. Her initial plan was to discuss her acceptance of the mission and ask for his advice. Despite her independence, he had been her mentor, and he was more experienced. He could help her come up with a plan.

But when he returned from his weeklong mission, he was in no shape for a lengthy discussion, so she had postponed their talk despite Sandaime's urgency. It was time for the two of them to be alone together, without mission distractions or the weight of numerous lives upon their shoulders.

Then he had called her by another woman's name. Something like that would seem insignificant to most, but the young woman already had deep seeded insecurities about their relationship. It was important to her that he loved her and only her. If his subconscious replaced her with another, then the other was the genuinely loved one. His conscious mind must have rationalized and replaced the true one with her when she slipped him that thought so long ago.

Of course, anyone who could have followed her reasoning would have told her she was thinking too much and that's not how love worked at all and that it was possible to love more than one person in a lifetime or even at the same time.

But given Kakashi's hesitance to speak of his past, it made sense to her. The insecurity and guilt that had plagued her during their relationship turned to something else. She rationalized the plan that came into focus. His sharingan bound him to the past. It bound him to the guilt he felt for his friend's death. It was a constant reminder of his loved ones long gone. If she were to borrow it, just for a little while, wouldn't he be better off? Wouldn't he be able to focus more on the present and the future? Wouldn't he discontinue his absurdly long memorial visits?

And besides, she was borrowing it for an important mission, one in which he could play an important part.

-…-…-…-

_Author's Notes: I can't believe I started this rewrite a year ago and I'm still not done! Reviews help motivate me so please..._


	16. Konoha's Leaders

_Author's Notes: Wow, it's been over a year since I updated this story. This series of stories is very difficult for me to write compare to my others and it receives fewer reviews, so it's hard to be motivated. For those of you who have been waiting for an update, I promise the updates will be more regular. I feel more motivated now that the first book of this series won the Action/Adventure category in mediaminer's annual contest. I was shocked, but I did punch up the action and reformatted the story before I submitted it, so it was worth the effort._

_Interesting politics have been revealed in the manga, a bit of which I plan to incorporate._

-…-…-…-

_**Konoha's Leaders**_

Jostling, up and own… swaying, side to side… Kakashi half opened his eyes and saw that he was on a moving hill. No, that didn't make sense; he was the one that was moving, not the ground. He closed his eyes again, trying to ignore the pain in his head. A concussion? He couldn't remember what happened. One second he had made contact with her mind, the next he had blacked out. Did she somehow attack his mind with hers?

This time he slowly and cautiously opened his eyes. The green mound below him continued to rise up and down and sway side to side. He slowly realized he was being carried over Gai's shoulder, and the green hill he thought he saw, was just Gai's hideous green jumpsuit covering his tight butt. That thought made him shiver and further increased his headache.

"Gai," he croaked, "let me down."

"Ah, Kakashi, so you're finally awake. Sorry, no stopping, we have to get back to Konoha with the report." Gai seemed energized by his now conscious companion; he tightened his grip on Kakashi's waist and increased his speed by ten percent.

Kakashi's arms flailed around in protest, but he said nothing for a minute. Gai was right. They had to get back as soon as possible, but…

"What happened?" Kakashi asked since he still couldn't remember.

"You found her," Gai said simply, unusual for him.

"No, I mean, why do I feel as if a large boulder fell on my head?"

"Oh, sorry, that was me."

Kakashi could feel Gai shrug his muscular shoulders.

"You knocked me out? Why?" The anger that came over him was forced away by the painful pressure in his head. Kakashi took a deep breath and held it. Gai had to have a good reason. It couldn't be related to one of his crazy challenges, could it?

"Our seven days was up at the exact time when you said you found her."

"What?! You decked me because of that?"

"Well, the Hokage said seven days, and I don't like to be late the way you do." Gai did not explain any further. Instead, he quickened his pace, now taking the faster, bumpier treetop route.

'_What the hell kind of reason is that?_' Kakashi thought furiously to himself, but he was too tired to argue. Then he realized that it hadn't been exactly seven days. There were a few hours to spare, even factoring in daylight savings time. (Did they have that in Grass Country?) There must have been another reason, one that Gai was not telling him. Maybe it was because the Hokage had ordered them to return as soon as they found her, and not to engage in any combat if there were many enemies. But why knock him out? Couldn't Gai just gently remind him of the Hokage's orders?

He forced himself to remain calm and to review all the information he had collected since he left Konoha, while allowing himself to be humiliating carried and tossed about. An hour later, Kakashi felt well enough to suggest a quick break, after which he would continue on his own two legs.

Gai readily placed him down and leaned his traveling companion against a tree. Kakashi had gained a few pounds in the past couple of years (Gai was sure it wasn't due to hardened muscle from vigorous training), and it was difficult to maintain a good grip on his now awake, moving, and complaining comrade.

The two men rested by a small peaceful creek where they refilled their water bottles and washed their hands and faces. (Kakashi faced the other direction so Gai couldn't see his face.) Stone markers, hidden underneath the tree roots, indicated they were a half day's travel from Konoha. Kakashi estimated that he had been unconscious for nearly 24 hours. He wondered if this was the first break Gai had taken, but Gai seemed energetic enough. Maybe he had taken soldier pills to replenish his chakra, but no, Gai rarely resorted to those.

After a few minutes rest, Kakashi said coolly, "That was quite a blow you dealt me. What's going on Gai?"

"I guess I don't know my own strength," Gai replied evasively.

Gai had never been a good liar. Kakashi did not need a special eye to see he was holding something back. "Did the Hokage give you special orders?"

Gai shrugged and tried to change the subject. "We're almost back. You can ask him yourself." He would not look at Kakashi. Instead, he stretched his long green arms out, like tree branches, and bent his knees, stretching his muscles out to prepare for the run toward home.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes and looked hard at Gai. He dropped his mind filters and tried to read his thoughts, but all he heard was: "Must get back to Konoha. Must get back to Konoha. Must get back…" It was like a chant, a hypnotic chant.

The realization of what it meant shocked the veteran shinobi – Gai had been hypnotized by the Hokage!

* * *

The old Hokage was a talented jutsu artist, a cautious leader, and a sentimental man. When he first retired, over twenty years ago, he was relieved to give up his position. He knew he was getting too soft, and sometimes made decisions with his heart rather than his head, despite being called the great professor. His two trusted advisors, however, kept the balance. Although they sometimes disagreed with his policies, they always had Konoha's best interests at heart.

Sarutobi had suspected the child had inherited powers from the day Kakashi brought her from Thunder Country. Why else would her late term mother be on duty in the Raikage's special prisoner interrogation complex? His suspicions grew each time he received a report on her behavior and activity. There were the reports of nannies quitting after a few weeks, reports of neighbors complaining about a continually crying infant, and then Iruka's report of a young girl interested in enrolling in the academy. It was easier to keep tabs on her once she was a student, but there was nothing terribly unusual, outside of a bullying incident and her occasional inattention in class. Reports from all her teachers were favorable. Her mission logs from genin to jounin were not unusual or spectacular, except for the incident in Wave Country when the chakra amplification artifacts had caused a messy scene, or did they?

His suspicions were confirmed when he interrogated her upon her return to Konoha, after having been away for a month in Thunder Country. He had asked her point blank about her powers and she did not dispute his allegations. He knew with certainty that she had received additional training, although she failed to elaborate on her absence.

Sarutobi had tried to keep the knowledge of her abilities to himself, but his two advisors, Koharu and Homura, had their own eyes and ears all over the village. A few days after her interrogation, as Sarutobi sat at his desk reviewing the recent mission logs, they burst into his office and confronted him angrily.

"How could you keep the presence of a mind seeker in our village from us?" Koharu accused. The old woman was the strictest of the three former teammates. She was shocked to learn their promising kunoichi was adopted and originally from Thunder Country. She had immediately jumped to the worst case scenario. An infant mind seeker spy, planted in Konoha, readily to learn all their secrets and betray them. It had happened before. Yakushi Kabuto was a prime example. Granted, he was older when he was adopted, but that didn't mean an infant couldn't be programmed the same way.

"Her continued presence in this village is a danger to us all. What if she's a spy? We've heard of her trip to Thunder Country," said Homura, who was the most logical of the three. He was not convinced that she was planted as an infant - that was too complicated and unlikely. Nor was he certain that she had mental powers, but now seeing that Sarutobi did not deny she was a mind seeker, they were right about their assumptions. Even if she was not a spy before, it was very likely that after her contact with Hidden Cloud shinobi, she was now a spy, either voluntarily or forcibly. She may not be aware of it herself. There were jutsu to seal away memories.

"She returned to us of her own free will." Sarutobi sighed, emptied his pipe in the trashcan, and refilled it with his best tobacco. He needed the fix to deal with these two.

"She's a spy! Hidden Cloud Village shinobi cannot be trusted! You should know that as well as anyone of us." Koharu stepped closer to her old teammate. "Remember the Hyuuga?"

"That was your decision, the two of you and the Fire Lord, not mine," Sarutobi angrily replied. That had been one of their greatest disagreements, the sacrifice of Hyuuga Hizashi. That, his failure to kill Orochimaru, and what happened with the Uchiha clan had caused the biggest fights. "I'm not giving in this time. Otori Rikako has never given us a reason to distrust her."

"Leaving the village without permission, disappearing for a month, visiting a country with which we have tenuous ties, those are not reasons?" Homura pointed out. How could a man so intelligent be so blind? Why hadn't he learned his lesson? Again and again, Sarutobi always gave everyone the benefit of a doubt. Even when they were genin, he was the most softhearted one.

"I've spoken to her and I trust her. There's no problem," said Saurobi confidently. He did trust her. He believed in her. She had bonds to the village that could not be so easily broken. If you trust someone, they will return your trust with loyalty. He did not see in her the same irredeemable coldness that Orochimaru had. She had her parents and Kakashi. She loved and was loved, and that would keep her grounded. How could he explain these intangible concepts to his two practical and paranoid advisors, who always saw plots hidden in the shadows even when they were just shadows?

"Famous last words. I hope you're right." Koharu shook her head and bit her wrinkled lower lip. She felt it in her old bones - trouble was coming.

"You should seal away her powers. You can't give someone like that free reign of this village." Homura was not ready to give up quite yet.

"She promised she wouldn't use her powers arbitrarily or without permission."

"And you believe her?"

"She's caused no harm in all these years." Sarutobi began to tire of this argument. He took a deep puff from his pipe, held it, and blew smoke rings at the two old shinobi standing before him. One ring settled for a second on Koharu's tight white bun before disappearing. The other bumped Homura's glasses and dissipated.

His old comrades knew that was the sign for them to go.

"No harm, that you know of," Koharu scoffed before she turned her back to leave.

Homura nodded in agreement, and turned to follow her.

Then the mission request came in from the Grass and Rain countries, a dangerous mission requiring long term infiltration. The advisors came up with a plan. If Thunder Country's mind seeker spy, Otori Rikako, were to die on this mission, they'd be rid of an unpredictable element. Their hands would be clean and Sarutobi could not blame them. If she lived, and proved herself loyal to Konoha, then she would be a very valuable tool.

-…-…-…-…-


	17. The Missing Nin

-…-…-…-…-

_**The Missing-Nin**_

The forest spanned many miles around Konoha, with rough roads crisscrossing the ground, leading to the neighboring villages, but most of the forest was dense with trees and foliage, populated with a myriad of animal life. There was always movement, from a running deer to a scuttling beetle, always sound, from the howl of a wolf to the buzzing of a bee. Smells ranged from the sweet scent of grass covered in morning dew, to the putrid odor of animal dung. The days were warm and humid, but the nights were comfortable and cool. Water and food were easily replenished by the many small streams stocked full of fish.

It was an ideal place for a rogue ninja.

Rikako made her way slowly and cautiously through the expansive forest, trying to reach the border villages while avoiding the main roads and hiding from the ANBU. If the old Hokage was true to his word, there should only be one or two platoons scouring the west. He would have sent the bulk of his men to the northeast, toward Thunder Country. But was he as he appeared? He always seemed like the kindly grandfather type. That belied how dangerous and intelligent he truly was. What if he sent her on a wild goose chase? A trap? Using her sudden departure as an excuse to label her a traitor and marking her for execution.

But now she had the sharingan, the prized eye, one of the very few left. If he wanted her dead, and if he wanted the eye back, her pursuers would have to be careful not to damage the eye. That could give her a slight advantage. She analyzed how she would fare in a fight against a platoon of ANBU. With her normal powers, she felt confident she could take on two ANBU opponents or two mid level jounin opponents, depending on their areas of strength. If the sharingan was as powerful as the rumors implied, then a platoon of four ANBU could still be defeated. The suspicious young woman couldn't be sure of her superior's intentions, and her natural paranoia fed into her distrust.

It was strange having a foreign object in her head. She could not look at objects directly with both eyes. There seemed to be a spacial differential between the images the eyes received. The distorted perception gave her a headache, but she refused to cover up the sharingan the way Kakashi did. She absolutely hated wearing a forehead protector on her head. It was uncomfortable and made her hair look funny when she took it off. Though she was not particularly vain, there were some things that crossed the line - hat hair was one of them. Nor did she want to wear an eye patch - that would call too much attention to her person and her eye. Instead, she unbound her normally braided hair, allowing it to flow freely. Covering the sharingan with her long hair swept to one side was enough to keep her chakra from being wasted to a great extent. And she thought it made her look cooler and more mysterious.

As with Kakashi, the sharingan was always on and consuming chakra. She recalled how exhausted Kakashi would be after extensive use, but then again, he had less chakra than many other jounin, herself included. She felt the draining effect and estimated that it reduced her chakra reserves and her efficiency by about five percent when covered. Even during sleep the eye demanded chakra. She estimated that during sleep mode, the eye only required 1 of her chakra. If she actively used the eye, the chakra consumption increased to 10 and upwards of 20 for higher level jutsu. Her calculations were loosely based on the amount of energy she expended daily, versus the amount of calories she was taking in through her shinobi rations, which were carefully regulated to deliver a specific number of calories per bar. They came in a variety of flavors: bad, not that bad, and crap. The supplements created by the Akimichi clan were purported to be better, but they obsessively guarded their stock and the secret ingredients. The draining affect annoyed her and she wondered how Kakashi was able to live with it for so long.

Training was another problem. The eye did not come with a manual and Kakashi never showed her training tricks with the sharingan, since she did not have one of her own. So based on the little she knew of its abilities from her training sessions and missions with Kakashi and the rumors she heard, she formulated her own training. The sharingan was purportedly capable of seeing quick movements in slow motion, so she observed the flight of hummingbirds, whose wings beat over 60 times per second. She watched quick field mice and buzzing insects dart about. None was as quick as an experienced shinobi, but for a start it was adequate. The sharingan was purportedly capable of high level genjutsu, including hypnosis, so she made eye contact with wild deer and sought out predators like wolves and bears, trying to hypnotize them with her newfound powers into obeying her orders to come closer or run away. One time she managed to tame an angry boar, but released the genjutsu when it became too friendly and followed her around like faithful dog. It just wasn't cute enough or inconspicuous enough to be a pet.

The medic in her wished she could take the eye out, dissect it and run some genetic tests. First she would remove the cornea, the protective cover. Then she would examine the most intriguing part, the iris. The iris of the Uchiha eye was naturally a very dark color, almost black, much like her own eyes. Upon activation of the sharingan, it changed to a blood red, probably due to the many capillaries and chakra vessels suddenly flooded with blood and chakra - food for the sharingan. Not only would the color of the iris change, but its muscles formed the additional pupils – the three tadpole-shaped dots. She would analyze the lens, the vitreous humor, the retina, and finally the optic nerve. Even Kakashi didn't know the exact biology behind it. Although medic-nin like her father were able to remove and install it, few ever had the opportunity to really examine it. But now that she possessed one, she speculated on how its biology explained its abilities.

_'This eye allows me to see movement my normal eye can't see. It seems to slow things down so that my brain can process it, or maybe the images are processed quicker by my brain with a more efficient relay from the optic nerve. The human eye can detect about 30-60 frames per second. They say the hand is quicker than the eye, but the sharingan with its three rotating dots is comparable to the strobe effect, where the details of motion are revealed by breaking up the visual input via pulsed lighting or a fast shutter. Perhaps the optic nerve is not only connected to the visual cortex of the cerebrum, but also sends impulses directly to the cerebellum where motor functions are processed. Maybe that's why once the sharingan sees the motion, the body can copy it immediately.' _

Traveling solo also gave her ample time to reflect on the consequences of her actions. She knew her parents were not likely to forgive her, and if they had any doubts before, they were certain now. She could see her mother's accusing, fearful eyes when she tied her up and stuck her in the closet. She remembered her father's disappointed, angry visage when she threatened him. She recalled their wary thoughts, her mother's regrets about adopting her, her father's apprehension of her decision to become a shinobi. She should've felt more guilt for putting them through such trauma, but her thoughts centered more on the man she violated.

She had loved him, had admitted those feelings she had long suppressed, had opened her heart to him. He had said that he loved her, but it wasn't true after all. It was just a result of the subliminal thought she had placed in his mind. The anger and betrayal that she had felt at his subconscious slip of the tongue, calling her by another woman's name, had subsided after she had obtained his most precious possession, and after she realized it was all her own fault in the first place. Those black emotions were now replaced by guilt, and as was her character, she had to analyze that as well.

_'Guilt is an emotion that separates animals from humans. Some say it's love or sacrifice, but animals have been known to show love for one of their own, or for a human master, and they have been known to sacrifice themselves to protect their young, or their master. But animals do not feel guilt, because their minds are not so complicated that they would do something they shouldn't. Animals always do what they have to do, with no ulterior motive other than survival.'_

So she reasoned to herself that it was survival. She needed his eye for survival. How else could she infiltrate a dangerous gang and hope to get out alive? Maybe the Hokage did not expect her to get out alive. She pushed those thoughts out of her mind. He had been nothing but fair to her. She had felt no deception in his words.

So what was Kakashi doing without his sharingan, she wondered. Granted he didn't do much with it at all unless he was on an important, deadly mission. The Hokage still relied on him for S class missions on occasion because of the sharingan's powers. If he didn't have it, he would probably be assigned less dangerous missions, which was better for his health and mental state, she reasoned. And maybe without the eye of his long dead teammate, he would not hold onto his past as tightly as he did.

And what of her own abandoned eye? She had given no instruction, but she assumed her father most likely installed it in Kakashi to replace the one she took. How strange that would be. She wondered if he had been able to tap into its powers, then she frowned when she thought of the mischief he could be up to. Although she did not want to admit it, she still cared for him, and the thought of him possibly using her eye to discover women who wanted him - she'd gouge their eyes out with her kunai!

So what was he doing now? Was he cursing her name and regretting ever having been involved with her? Was he visiting Obito at the shinobi memorial and apologizing for having lost his eye? Was he using it to take advantage of others (the way she did)? Or was he trying to find her and recover his eye?

That last part was something she had considered. If there was anyone in Konoha who could track her, it would be Kakashi. Not just because of his nin dogs or his skills and ANBU experience, but because he had the greatest motivation. She had his prize possession, and a man with as much pride as Kakashi, though he often pretended otherwise, would never let her get away with it so easily. It would just be a matter of time before he found her. Time she needed to make contact with the rebel group.

-...-...-...-...-


	18. Contact

_**Contact**_

Days later, Rikako finally reached one of the border towns between the Rain and Fire countries. It was a medium size one with a couple of inns, a few restaurants, bars, and shops lining the main road. Most of the town activity was involved with trade and there were signs for trading houses everywhere, brokering everything from fruit and grain to innovative electronic equipment. It seemed you could buy or sell practically anything there. It was a busy little town with people milling about in a variety of clothing, from traditional robes to modern suits.

It was a good town to hide and a good town to make contact.

How could she find the rogue ninja gang? She had been given no specifics as to where they resided, but she deduced that the main headquarters had to be somewhere hidden, out of the way. The members were probably trying to be inconspicuous, but they were likely looking for more recruits if they were planning something big. It could take a while for her to find them, but maybe she could get them to find her.

After days of traveling, what she really wanted was a nice hot bath, a long soapy soak, but time was precious. Instead, she entered a bar, filled with other dusty travelers, sitting on rickety wooden chairs at tables in the same condition. She had little with her except a backpack with a change of clothes, shinobi rations, and a few other supplies, mostly medical. Her truncated staff was attached at her waist. Her clothes, a forest green tunic, trimmed with orange, with matching pants (horrible attention-getting colors, instead of her usual black) were dusty and torn. Wandering the back roads, hiding from the ANBU and from other sentries, were not easy tasks even with her camouflage techniques. All heads turned and all eyes fixed on the mysterious young woman with hair covering one eye.

She sauntered confidently over to the bar and ordered a glass of cold… soy milk. Her unconventional order caused several customers to snicker loudly. One middle aged man, who obviously already had too much to drink, wobbled over to her. She could smell and almost see his foul breath as he spoke.

"How 'bout I buy you a real drink? Unless you need your daddy's permission?" He laughed raucously. He stopped laughing when Rikako delivered a quick sharp blow to his head with her baton.

'_Pathetic, not shinobi,' _she thought with disappointment as she sipped her soy milk. Then it was onto to the next bar, and then the next town.

She started fights whenever she could, challenging anyone who looked at her, showing off her techniques to attract attention, even against non-shinobi. She left town soon after each incident, as if she did not want to be followed. Sometimes the overly cautious kunoichi also employed henge to make it look as if she didn't want to be recognized. She reasoned a smart recruiter should be able to see the pattern of behavior and deduce it was the same kunoichi.

A week since leaving Konoha, Rikako entered a small rundown inn on the border of the Grass, Rain and Fire countries. It was a poor village without the commerce of some of the others she had visited. The area around it was mostly deserted, rather suspicious place to have an inn, she thought. How many customers could they get in such a place, away from the main roads? She sat down by a small table and signaled the innkeeper to take her order. He rushed over and obsequiously bowed toward the authoritative young woman who brusquely ordered tea and the deluxe noodle soup.

Halfway through her lunch she was approached by a rather handsome man in rough traveling robes with unruly brown hair that reached the nape of his neck. '_Mid-twenties maybe, hard to tell with his weather worn skin,'_ she evaluated. An X-ed out Grass forehead protector was tied around his arm.

"What's a pretty young lady like you doing in a place like this?" he said with a wink. He pulled up a chair to sit down next to her, uninvited. '_Not an original line, but with my looks it usually works,' _he thought.

"Trying to spend some quality time alone. Rather unsuccessfully, I might add." She looked down at her noodles and twirled her soba on her chopsticks. She had already memorized his looks, his carriage, and made her deductions.

"That's harsh. You must have quite a story to tell." He positioned his chair backwards and sat with his arms folded on its back, his stubbled chin resting on his arms. He had no intention of leaving.

"Not more than anyone else I'm sure." She slurped her noodles noisily. It tasted not much better than her rations. There was something rancid in it. So much for being "deluxe." She pushed her bowl away.

"It's rare for a Konoha shinobi to be a missing-nin. They all seem like one big happy family," he said flippantly, but he stared at her intensely, watching for her reaction.

"Even Konoha has its black sheep. I'm sure you've heard of a couple of them." Sheep like Orochimaru and Itachi who were lost and never sheared.

"Yes, of course, those guys were extremely powerful, but not as smart as they thought. They underestimated their opponents. Surprising, since they came from Konoha originally."

"Familiarity breeds contempt and unknown factors are what keep you on your toes," she replied in her wise, older-than-her-years tone.

"Hah, good point, you're a sharp one aren't you?" he said, almost patronizing her.

"No more than some, less than others." She looked directly into his eyes, challenging him.

"Modest, too, I see." Something about her gaze made him pull back. It was rare for him to lose a stare down, but his sixth sense warned him to avoid her gaze, even though only one eye was visible.

She shrugged at his dishonest flattery. "I try to be. Why make enemies? So how did you know I was a Leaf shinobi? I've cast off my forehead protector."

"Your staff. That's custom-made. You must be a shinobi. As for Leaf, that's an educated guess. We're on the border of Grass, Rain and Fire Countries. By your dress, I picked Konoha." It was more than that. She did not have the paranoid, fearful, angry look of rogue ninja from Rain or Grass. Those countries bred cruel shinobi. She felt independent and confident.

"I see, so you're the smart one here. Why do you still wear the protector of your former village?" It was a question she had always wanted to ask a rogue ninja. It seemed strange to keep such a bond with a village you hated enough to leave.

"It's an advertisement for those looking to hire. Hunter-nin already know what I look like. So why hide it? Not that any of them can take me on. Hah! So what is your story? Female missing-nin are nearly unheard of."

"I had a bit of a disagreement with one of the jounin." She looked away and blushed.

"Oh? Anyone I know?" His interest caused him to lean forward again on his chair.

Rikako's left hand pulled back her hair to reveal the sharingan.

'_Sharingan!'_ The ex-shinobi was visibly startled. "That eye, how did you get it?"

"How do you think?"

"There's less than a handful of people left with a sharingan. Whose is it?" The sharingan, the eye of the reknown Uchiha clan - massacred by one of their own. What a tragedy. What a waste.

"Take a guess," Rikako said with a cruel smile, which made the man think twice about being confident she was from Konoha.

"Is that...Hatake Kakashi's sharingan?" he ventured to guess. Hatake Kakashi, the famous copy-nin of Konoha. Not of the Uchiha clan. Rumored to have copied a thousand jutsu. A very worthy opponent.

"You know him? Hope you're not friends." She studied him, openly now, comparing him to Kakashi.

"Hardly. How did you get it? Doesn't seem like he would part with it willingly."

"Let's just say a woman has certain advantages, and he's the easiest to defeat. The others wouldn't be seduced by a woman." The others weren't perverts who loved porn, at least she didn't think so. Maybe they were, she had never met Sasuke or Itachi.

"Ha, I can imagine, especially one as beautiful as you. You must be strong, too." Very strong to be to defeat a sharingan user. Or very smart to deceive him. Or very suspicious.

She gave him her most seductive smile. "Well, that Kakashi, he's not that great, just an arrogant bastard with a fancy eye he stole off of some Uchiha corpse."

"Ha! Good description. You know, I have some friends who might like to meet you. How would you like to join us?" He decided to take a chance on the mysterious young woman, despite the warning bell that rang in his head.

"Sorry, but I like being alone, at least for now." She knew she had to play it cool, make it look as if she wasn't interested at all.

"There's safety in numbers."

"It's also harder to be inconspicuous."

"True, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything. It's easier to find work in an organized group. I can put you in contact with those willing to hire rogue ninja." Money was usually the deciding factor. Powerful or not, money was always necessary. You could use power to take what you wanted like food or shelter, but money always came in handed for intangible things.

"That's certainly a consideration, but for now I'm happy to have my independence and not answer to anyone but myself. Besides, are you interested in me or my sharingan?" She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"Both, but it's not like we'll try taking your sharingan. There's no one around to install it properly. That's an advanced medical technique. How did you have it done?"

"I have my connections, and ways of getting what I want," she said evasively.

"Well, if you change your mind, I'll be around." His interest grew even more. There were at least a hundred questions he wanted to ask her. He could resort to force, but that should be a last resort. He finally left her in peace to return to his table by the corner, but she could still feel his eyes upon her while she played with her noodles some more.

Tired of rations and sleeping on the cold forest floor, Rikako considered sleeping at the inn, but decided to continue her way, especially since the food was so bad. After walking a mile down the rocky path toward the next village, she sensed something.

A blaze of fire suddenly surrounded her. A platoon of Leaf ANBU! Her hands flashed; a wall of water rose up thirty feet high and lifted her away from the flames. The waterwall collapsed, putting out the fire, but she maintained her superior position on a wall of earth hidden behind the waterwall. From her vantage point she could see their positions clearly, even hidden among the trees. She twirled around, releasing a torrent of senbon, targeting the ANBU platoon with her chakra. Two of them fell immediately; her needles had hit critical points. The other two were wounded enough to stop their attack.

"Tell the old senile fool of a Hokage that sending one lousy platoon is an insult to me and to all kunoichi! Get out of here in 10 seconds and I'll allow you to live."

"Rikako-chan, I never thought in a million years I'd be hunting you." The voice was familiar though muffled by the mask. It was someone she knew, but this was no time for explanations. She shrugged and started to count. The two wounded ANBU took their fallen comrades and disappeared.

The earth wall sunk back into the ground. The ANBU were gone but she could still sense a foreign chakra. "You can come out now," she announced.

The man she had met at the inn casually appeared from behind a large oak tree, clapping his hands. "That was quite impressive."

"You sure were a lot of help," she replied sarcastically.

"I just wanted to see if you could take care of yourself. Why did you allow them to leave?"

"Well, if I killed all of them, their bodies will be lying here rotting, causing quite a stench, and I don't want to pay for their burial. Wouldn't be fair for someone else to do it either. If I killed 3 of them, the one guy could only take back 2 bodies, wouldn't be fair to the remaining guy's family. I'm nothing if not fair." She smiled sweetly. "Besides, they apparently know where I am anyway. It'll be more interesting this way."

"Why don't you come with me? My place is nearby. Just a few minutes of your time, no pressure. I swear. It looks like you can take care of yourself, so there's nothing for you to worry about."

She nodded hesitantly and agreed to follow him. The two rogue ninja walked side by side into the forest, off the normal paths. Rikako kept alert, trying to sense if anyone lay in ambush in front of them. But the man with her seemed poised and open. He didn't seem as if he were trying to trap her.

"Ah, sorry, I neglected to introduce myself," he said after they had already been walking for a while. "My name is… Well, let's just say you can call me Kamui."

"I'm Rikako."

"No family name?" he asked, even though he didn't give one either.

"Don't really have one. I was adopted. My real parents were from Thunder Country. Didn't know them, so what's the point." She shrugged.

"Why aren't you heading to Thunder Country, if that's where your parents were from?"

"Why should I? The Raikage would use me just like the Hokage. I owe Thunder Country no allegiance and if I try to claim my birthright, I'm sure I'll have lots of relatives challenging me. Not worth the trouble. I'd rather be independent. So what's your story?"

"Well, word has it that I killed the son of the leader of Grass Country. It was an accident, but I had to flee after that. Then they put out some story about me kidnapping his son, holding him hostage, demanding ransom, then killing and dismembering the body! Now, why would I do that? Dismemberment doesn't make a body any more dead! And as for me killing the boy because he could identify me as the kidnapper, they obviously knew who I was. Some propaganda, huh?"

She nodded in support. "Guess there's no justice in Grass Country either. The ones in power can pretty much do whatever they want."

"Yeah, well, there're a lot of people not happy with that. Anyway, we're almost there."

An immense bamboo forest towered in front of them, as if it had suddenly appeared, but by the height and thickness of the stalks, it was an ancient forest. They pushed aside the dense bamboo and headed toward the center. Kamui's "almost," like many other people's, was nowhere near the truth. It was a maze, with many turns, not a direct path toward the center. It would have been faster to take the treetop route, the kunoichi noted, but she followed him faithfully in case there were traps, while memorizing the serpentine path.

-…-…-…-…-


	19. Old Version

_Author's Notes: Argh! I give up. I'm no longer motivated to rewrite this series so I'm posting this old version. If it seems disjointed and crappy, I'm very, very sorry. A few people have complained about this second story not being finished so I guess it's better to add the old version of the ending then to never finish the rewrite._

**_Old version:_**

Kamui's gang is larger than she expected. Apparently there is no shortage of dissidents in the Grass and Rain countries. But she can tell most are not trained shinobis, just regular mercenaries and the desperate poor. They are all men except an old woman and her young granddaughter who do the cooking and cleaning. They work out of an old abandoned temple, even more out of the way than the dump of an inn where she had her last meal. The bolder of the men are about make the usual chauvinistic comments laced with sexual innuendo when they see Kamui arrive with such a beauty. But her strong chakra aura, the mysterious way one side of her face is hidden from view by her long black hair, and the way she holds their gaze with her one dark eye, somehow warn them she is extremely dangerous.

As Kamui introduces her to the more important members, Rikako struggles to pick out something to identify each one. _That one has a mole near his left eye. That one has a scar on his chin. That one is way ugly!_ Kamui's partner is Mazaki Yashiro, an older man with an air of absolute authority and cunning. His face is badly scarred on one side with a milky white eye which stares unrelentingly back at her. _He's the one I need to be wary of_, she thinks.

**_Sandaime (The Third Lord)_**

The old Hokage had thought long and hard before assigning the mission. It was the perfect mission for her. She had the reputation, the background, and the powers necessary to succeed. However, in order for it to play out, he would have to reveal her powers to the ANBU. Even though they were loyal to him and answered to him and would keep the revelation of her powers as confidential top secret information, it still felt wrong. If his advisors and their spies knew in addition to the ANBU, how long would her powers remain secret from others? She would be immediately ostracized from society. Mind jutsu were among the forbidden jutsu, but that was not meant for those with an inherent advanced bloodline. Mind jutsu that could be taught could be not taught. Those who were born with mind powers had no choice.

He sent three platoons toward Thunder Country in the northeast, one to the south and another to the east.

"Kakashi, I'm sorry, but it had to be convincing and I had to let her do it her way. I didn't realize she'd resort to such measures. But now, she should be able to infiltrate the missing-nin gang from Grass and Rain. No one will believe you gave up your sharingan willingly. Just pray you get it back with her in one piece when this is over."

Kakashi, still in a state of shock, "She's on a S-class mission by herself? No backup, no contacts?"

"Well, she'll find a way to contact us, I'm sure. And maybe that eye she left you can be a link."

"I don't even know how this thing works. It's not like my sharingan, which I can just cover up to turn it off. It seems to behave erratically."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out."

"Her parents, I'll have to inform them."

"You know you can't Kakashi. They must play their part as well. Spies can be anywhere."

Hokage thinks _with both those eyes, she is immune to most genjutsu, plus with her intelligence, she can anticipate and counter most ninjutsu. Against a taijutsu expert, she knows to keep her distance_. Still he is worried - she has to outwit 2 dangerous S-class criminals and their underlings. He sends several Anbu platoons toward Thunder Country as decoys. He sends another 2 platoons to scour Grass and Rain to make it look like she's really being hunted_. I hope they don't annoy her, or she might really kill them. What lengths will she go to in order to complete this mission?_

The Hokage also calls a meeting of a few of his top trusted jounin. In case something happened to him before the mission was concluded, someone has to know the truth, to help her if she needed it. As the jounin await their meeting with the Hokage, Kakashi receives more unwanted thoughts.

_Gai - Kakashi's so cool, even under these circumstances. I wish I could be just like him, but there's not enough gel in the world to get my hair like that!_

_Kurenai – That idiot, I gave him all this great advice, but look what happened. Some men are meant to stay bachelors._

_Asuma – What kind of trouble is Kakashi causing now? He's reverting back to his old ways. It's a good thing Kurenai had the sense to go for me instead._

Kakashi – _Damn this eye. I don't want to hear any more criticisms! Good thing I can't read the Hokage's mind._

The Hokage addresses them, "I've assembled you here today to let you know that Otori Rikako is on a S-class mission. She is working undercover to infiltrate a gang of missing-nins from the Rain and Grass Countries. We must make it appear that she is indeed a missing-nin. Only you here have this knowledge in case she needs backup..."

Kamui's gang is larger than she expected. Apparently there is no shortage of dissidents in the Grass and Rain countries. But she can tell most are not trained shinobis, just regular mercenaries and the desperate poor. They are all men except an old woman and her young granddaughter who do the cooking and cleaning. They work out of an old abandoned temple, even more out of the way than the dump of an inn where she had her last meal. The bolder of the men are about make the usual chauvinistic comments laced with sexual innuendo when they see Kamui arrive with such a beauty. But her strong chakra aura, the mysterious way one side of her face is hidden from view by her long black hair, and the way she holds their gaze with her one dark eye, somehow warn them she is extremely dangerous.

As Kamui introduces her to the more important members, Rikako struggles to pick out something to identify each one. _That one has a mole near his left eye. That one has a scar on his chin. That one is way ugly!_ Kamui's partner is Mazaki Yashiro, an older man with an air of absolute authority and cunning. His face is badly scarred on one side with a milky white eye which stares unrelentingly back at her. _He's the one I need to be wary of_, she thinks.

She watches the missing-nins as they train. Most have only moderate chuunin level techniques, not too exciting, but she adds any new ones to her repertoire. There are a number of shinobi with jounin level skills, most who never achieved that rank due to various reasons, mostly political. She tries her best to make friends with them, but life has made them untrusting. Still, she is able to watch them from afar as they trained with each other. She can at least copy their taijutsu movements. Kamui sometimes trains with her, hoping to see her work up a sweat, but she never does. She has never seen Yashiro train.

**_The Test _**

To raise money, the missing-nins take on all sorts of disreputable jobs such as smuggling drugs across the borders of the 3 countries, racketeering, black market operations, acting as bodyguards for various syndicates, etc. They are better organized than Rikako expected. She is quite impressed. Kamui and his partner in crime ran things efficiently and ruthlessly, but intelligently and fairly. There are also assassination jobs. She usually acts as the scout and lookout. They have not given her any serious jobs.

Yashiro to Kamui "What makes think you can trust her?"

"What makes you think we can trust each other?"

"Those birds, what's the deal with that? Are they special summoned birds?"

"No, I checked them out. They're just regular birds."

"Still, seems strange..."

"She can he a powerful ally."

"I see you're taken with her, but how are you going to test her?"

"Don't worry, I 've got that covered. If she betrays us, we'll start extracting information, and body parts, starting with her sharingan."

"Well, she seems to like you as well. What story did you spin this time?"

"I told her the truth."

"The truth or your version?"

"I told her what I needed her to know…"

"Rikako-chan," Kamui addresses her, "we have a special job for you."

"For me? Or for a woman?"

"Well, you're the only woman here capable of this job. This one will be worth it."

"Quit beating around the bush, what is it and how much?"

The job is the assassination of a Rain official who has been demanding an increase in his additional income for allowing certain shipments to cross the borders of Rain Country. But not only is he targeted, but his entire family as a warning to others. This wealthy official lived in a secure fort-like house with shinobi guards. He always travels with bodyguards. Getting at him would be difficult without the lost of extra lives on both sides, and it must be done with no witnesses.

Rikako decides the best way is to infiltrate the home via the family. She watches the family's activities. The wife is a proud middle-aged woman desperate to keep her youth. She arrays herself in the finest embroidered silks. They have two small children, a boy and a girl about four and eight. _Probably spoiled brats_, she thinks coldly_. A servant would be too obvious. They would not trust me for a long time. They'll always be watching me. And I don't want to take any orders._ _A merchant peddling high class merchandise, or customized wares, or something unique, would attract the wife's attention and gain me admittance._

Silk robes with matching scarves embroidered with birds and studded with pearls, an easy genjutsu to create. The official's wife is hypnotized by the counterfeit finery. Rikako gains admittance to her home. She takes measurements for custom tailored robes and dresses. The guards watch her leave, but it's her kage bunshin clone they see. She hides in the house waiting for the husband to return from work and the children from school…

"Good work, Rikako-chan! That was really clean and professional!"

Rikako brings back the head of the target, "I would have brought back the other heads, but a head is heavier than it looks. Using a kunai to cut it is actually rather difficult, but I didn't have time to look for a cleaver. I did manage an ice technique. It's easier to cut slightly frozen meat than fresh meat, you know…"

"You didn't need to do that," says Kamui, slightly disgusted. "I trust that you did it."

"Well, maybe you do, but Yashiro is still giving me that evil eye. You can give this to him as a present ."

"Hah, you mean his blind eye? That's just to unnerve people, he won't wear an eyepatch."

"What's with that eye anyway?"

"The leader of the Rain shinobi had it put out for insubordination. He was lucky he wasn't executed."

"No wonder he's so…cranky. Anyway, the funeral procession is next week. That would be a good time to ransack the mansion."

"Hah! You're always thinking, that's an excellent idea." Kamui studies her. She is cool, no hint of regret. He wonders how many she has killed before and whether she enjoys it.

**_The Plan_**

She's been with the gang for nearly 2 months now. Kamui and his partner trust her, and they trust her intelligence. Kamui reveals their ultimate plans.

"We plan to attack Rain Country first and then advance to attack Grass after securing the shinobi village."

"It's better to split up and attack simultaneously."

"We don't have enough men for that."

"But you will have the element of surprise. Suppose after the first attack Grass gets wind of it and prepare themselves. Taking over will be much more difficult. On the other hand, 2 surprise attacks would be much more efficient. I suggest attacking on the Festival of the Dead. It's a holiday and everyone will be less wary. Civilians and shinobis will be at the shrines. There will be less shinobis on active duty."

"That's a holy day."

"Didn't know you were religious, Kamui-kun."

"Not really, but it still seems sacrilegious."

"Are you serious about this or not?"

"It's a good plan, I'll run it by Yashiro."

"I assume you'll want to lead the charge on Grass?"

"Yes, of course. I've been waiting for years to have my revenge." He smiles at her warmly. "Rikako-chan, I know it's been hard for you hanging out in this conditions among us unruly men, but I want you to know that I'm glad you're here."

"Sure, thank me with gold when this is over."

"When this is over, I'd like to shower you with jewels as befitting the wife of a feudal lord and shinobi leader."

"Is that a proposal?" she blushes.

"Take it to mean what you want."

She nods seriously and says "It's definitely worth thinking about." She gives him an encouraging smile and he moves closer to her...

The Festival of the Dead is now only a week away. The armaments are ready. They have recruited enough men for a small army with two battalions, not quite enough to take over two small countries, but the leaders have additional plans.

"If the Grass battalion takes this path through the mountain valley, we'll be able to arrive at both villages simultaneous," Rikako proposes. "Each battalion of 70 men can split up once they're in sight of the villages. They can enter the villages in small groups pretending to be pilgrims with shrine offerings. The Grass and Rain shinobis won't know what hit them! And there will be no opportunity for them to summon help from Fire Country or any of their neighboring allies."

Rikako and Kamui are leading the Grass battalion, scouting ahead. The mountain path crosses through a valley, quite narrow at one stretch, that makes them vulnerable. Suddenly a rain of fire with hidden shurikens fall upon them. Scores of Anbu attack, it's an ambush! The Anbu have them surrounded, there are at least 10 platoons. A familiar voice, muffled yet strong and commanding declares "We have you surrounded, give up now Otori Rikako! It's over!"

_The temple, it wasn't there before was it?_ She has been paying attention to where Kamui is taking her. She was looking well ahead of her. There was no temple there a second ago. _Is this a genjustu?_ She flips her hair back in a natural move and activates the sharingan. No, that's a real temple. But there's an unnatural haze around it. Something fishy is going on. As she meets the gang, and learns of their skills, she finds an answer to the mystery. That's why the Grass and Rain shinobis have not been able to locate this gang, as large as it is. There are 6 shinobis, in one hour rotations, whose only function is to use all their chakra to veil the temple from detection. Only those with very high level genjutsu can penetrate the cloaking seal.

"The Grass and Rain Countries are run by corrupt governments that allowed drug trafficking, blackmarket operations and harbor dangerous criminals, all at the expense of their loyal citizens." Kamui explains. "When Yashiro and I take over, things will be different."

"But that's what we're doing now! And we're the dangerous criminals." says Rikako.

"Yeah, but we're only doing it to raise money. Once we have the power, we'll clean up the countries."

She likes Kamui, he is very charismatic, friendly, seemingly open, passionate but level-headed, a good speaker, motivator and leader. His dark good looks and easy smile turn many heads, even ones that have to come off. Is his ambition so wrong? He would make a better leader than the current one. She knows there is more to the kidnapping story. She knows Kamui did kidnap the boy, in retaliation to the Grass lord's pardon of a friend who raped and killed Kamui's sister. He did take the money. But the boy tried to escape from where he was held and fell to his death. That part was true. She also knows how he killed the rapist, in a way she would not have believed him capable, but the memories she extracted from him as he slept did not lie.

At first, Rikako keeps her hands relatively clean, acting as a scout and lookout while others do the dirty work. She rationalizes that these people are going to be killed whether she is there or not and most of them deserved it. She is loathe to take assassination jobs, but to maintain her cover she knows she will have to. She justifies it as scum killing scum, but drew the line at killing innocents. Luckily, Kamui and his partner felt pretty much the same. Innocent deaths should be avoided. Yet as a test, she has to kill the wife and children of the Rain official. In the middle of the night, as the entire household is in the deepest sleep, she plunges a kunai into the Rain official's neck but uses her senbon to paralyze the wife. She creeps along the walls to the children's rooms, and paralyzes them with senbon as well. The Rain official had to die, there can be no compromise there, but not the innocents. Her plan is to induce a deathlike state, good for a week, but saving their lives. She can use her mind powers to suggest to the head of staff to arrange a mock funeral for the family and have the wife and kids hideout out somewhere for awhile, until it's all over. It's risky, but her conscience would not let her do otherwise. Hopefully, it will be enough to fool Kamui and Yashiro. _Yashiro is the one to watch out for – he is always watching me and he knows I notice it. He doesn't think I can kill innocents, maybe not, but I can show how cruel I can be. _She brings back the head to secure their trust.

**_The Ambush_**

"We've just received Rikako's message indicating the gang's final plans," says the Hokage, playing with the little lovebird. "You know, this was a very clever idea. She uses these summoned birds to send us the information. If she's caught with them, they would think these were her ordinary pets. And people talk to parrots all the time."

Kakashi and Hokage discuss the conclusion of the mission. "She was able to split up the gang so they'll have to fight on two fronts with fewer members. It will be easier for us. The Rain and Grass shinobi will deal with the group marching toward the Hidden Rain Village, we'll send some of our men as well, while most of our shinobi will deal with the group marching towards the Hidden Grass Village. Rikako will be with the Grass group with Misato Kamui . She'll be leading them through a narrow path where we can ambush them."

"I'd like to be there with the Anbu when the time comes."

"That's not really necessary, Kakashi-kun."

"You'll need a lot of men to subdue that group. And I can help in case there are any problems with Rikako…"

"Problems?"

"There's a chance she may not want to return to Konoha."

Despite the Hokages's confidence in Rikako, Kakashi is not as sure. The Hokage has not seen what he's seen. Brainwaves like radio waves have a certain frequency and her eyes acted as sensitive receivers and transmitters. Just for a minute or so every day, he is able to concentrate enough chakra to her eye to eavesdrop. The glimpses aren't always snatches of conversation, often they were private thoughts. He wonders if she knows he can see her thoughts and whether she can see his. What he sees disturbs him. Sure he can understand her insulting him to get in good with the gang, but it seems she is buying into Kamui's beliefs. The feudal lords and shinobi system in the Rain and Grass Countries are harsh, granted. But a shinobi exists as a tool. It is not for him to question the rules. Being on the borders of the large countries of Konoha, Earth, and Wind, these countries act as buffers, so-called neutral zones where the black market and various syndicates can hide. But this gang of missing-nins is no better. Surely she sees that? There is a syndrome where the kidnap victim starts to identify with the kidnappers. Is that what is happening here? Misato Kamui is very charismatic, he has to be, to recruit and lead so many men. But surely she would not be taken in by him? But the images he sees show the two together. Did she or didn't she…he doesn't know for sure. Whether those thoughts are real or fantasy. He is not familiar enough with her eye's powers to distinguish them.

What does he really know about this girl, except for what she allows him to see? Her whole life has been a lie. She has been hiding her powers since she was small. She concocted a façade that none has penetrated. No one really knows who she is, what her powers are, what she thinks or feels. All that has been hidden away for so long, does she even know herself? She has said little about her training in Thunder Country. That part she still keeps from him. He knows only what she lets him know, her façade is as carefully controlled as her chakra. A quiet respectful child, an intelligent responsible adult. Her true self seen in unguarded moments is sentimental yet cynical, tolerant yet easily annoyed, serious but harvesting a wicked wit. But it is the dichotomy that attracts him and binds him to her.

Having her eye has given him some insight, quick glimpses of her psyche. She is…always thinking, always analyzing, and always conflicted. Impressions…she cares very much for that criminal Kamui, she's attracted to him. His views on life, his ambitions, she respects them. He's trying to make a difference. But her mission, she has to be true to her mission, and those who trust and care about her back home.

She sends a psychic message to the Anbu team that has been tracking her. She has been able to stay ahead of them, but now she needs them to find her and play their part in helping her infiltrate the gang.

__

**S-Class Level Battle**

"It's over..."

__

That voice...that's Kakashi's voice! What is he doing here?

"It's over..." that is the code word, she can return to being a Leaf shinobi now, but she hesitates and watches the fighting. She knows she should join in the fray but mixed loyalties stop her. The missing-nins are being cut down, but they put up a fierce fight and many of the Anbu are hurt. Kamui takes down several Anbu by himself, some of them might be her friends. None of them can stand against him. Rikako rushes over and tells him to stop.

"I can't let you kill any more people." She starts to apply first aid to the fallen Anbu.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to stop you, that was my mission."

"What do you m…"

"Sorry, but your plans have to stop here. I don't want to kill you. Please surrender now."

"Do you know what they do to S-class criminals in my country? I'd rather have you kill me than some nameless torturer-executioner! "

Kakashi is cutting down the missing-nins, but he keeps an eye out for Rikako. She is talking to their leader. Why is she talking? That is uncharacteristic of her. She never talks during a fight. She is always completely focused.

"Traitor! You think you know what my powers are...you can't defeat me." Kamui uses his death resurrection puppet technique and the dead become his puppets. Not even a minute, yet the battle has already yielded over twenty dead. They converge to attack Rikako.

Kamui says "Why do you think we only need a small band of men? Yashiro and I have no need of live soldiers. Dead from either side will suffice!" He can control at least 20 bodies at a time.

Rikako uses an earth wall to raise herself up then a ring of dragon fire, and the bodies are reduced to ashes. _May your families forgive me_, she thinks,

_there will be nothing to return to them. _

Kamui is surprised at the enormous fire power she just displayed. But he has other powers as well. As he performs a summons seal, Rikako throws shurikens to disrupt him, but he easily avoids all but one, which he allows to cut his hand to finish the summons. An enormous horned lizard appears!

__

No wonder the leaders of Grass and Rain are so afraid of those two

, Kakashi thinks as he sees the huge lizard. It looks very much like a dragon from ancient history.

_What will Rikako do now?_

Rikako has never had to use a summons in a battle, but now she calls upon the great eagle with a beak and claws stronger and sharper than a samurai's sword. She rides upon the great eagle by sealing her feet to its back with her chakra. Kamui is riding on his lizard the same way. Although having the ability to fly gives the eagle an advantage, the lizard has a long reach with its long sticky tongue coated with venomous acid. The eagle has only the wind gusts from its wings as a range attack. The eagle dives in and out, circling its prey. The lizard's tongue strikes out, hoping for a direct hit.

Kamui tries to convince her to his side. "Rikako-chan, you know our fight is just. Help me, help us, achieve our goals. You know how I feel about you and I know you feel the same. Don't let your old ties to Konoha rein you, break free of your fetters. These past months haven't you tasted freedom? Grass Country can be ours, together we can establish a just country ruled with wisdom!"

Rikako says nothing in answer. She is tempted, to have her own country to rule, to shape. But he is here. If he were not, she might have been swayed. But she has betrayed Kakashi twice already. She can't do it a third time.

The eagle dives in fast at a severe angle, then suddenly whips itself up, but during the split second it takes to turn, she hurls her staff and it strikes the lizard in the eye. The lizard is in pain and starts to spit out acid, hitting the eagle as it retreats.

"I'm sorry, Rikako-chan," the eagle says, "I'm injured, I won't be able to feint anymore."

"That's all right, it will be over soon." Rikako performs a seal, with her sharingan she has just copied Kamui's death resurrection puppet technique and uses it to control the newly dead. They rise up and attack the lizard's legs. As the lizard is distracted, Rikako flies in low again and uses the chakra lariat to bind the lizard's legs together. As it falls to the ground, it crushes the reanimated bodies. Kamui jumps off before he gets crushed. The summons is released and the lizard disappears. Rikako releases the eagle as well. The two combatants now stand on the ground facing each other squarely .

__

I'm not done yet

, thinks Kamui,

_she's a woman, and no matter how hard they train, their taijutsu will always be weaker than a man's. _

He takes out his kunai and prepares to use his speed and taijutsu techniques against her.

He's fast, too fast, his taijutsu is well above her level. From their training sessions, she knows her sharingan can barely read his movements. But her own eye can read his thoughts, his strategy, but still she may not be fast enough to counter...

__

I know well over a thousand jutsus, nearly every one that Kakashi and Gai know, plus those from the forbidden scrolls (being an assistant historian has its privileges), and techniques from Thunder, Rain and Grass countries...I can use any combination of them to try to defeat him, but it's time to end this before any more die.

She pulls back her hair. Both eyes are activated.

Kamui has never seen her right eye turn black before.

_What's this? She has another advanced power?_

"Yes I do. One even more powerful than the sharingan," she replies in answer to his thoughts.

She finally decides to use the mindblast. This is the first time she has used it on a human, but she knows its effects will be just as devastating. Chakra concentrated into electromagnetic waves of high frequency and amplitude, enough to scramble the synapses of the neurons of the brain. She doesn't need to know his position, just concentrate on his brainwave frequency. _Forgive me,_ she thinks

_, there will be no return once I use this._

Kamui is about to strike, just a yard away, when suddenly his brain feels like it's exploding. Green chakra surrounds her. _She has that much chakra left, after all that? Why is it green?_ Are his last thoughts before he collapses.

Kamui's down on his back and bleeding from every orifice. Rikako kneels by his side and tenderly takes his hand in hers. There is no need for first aid.

__

Who or what are you?

"...was it all lies?" he asks her weakly.

"Not all of it," she says as the tears fall.

He smiles and closes his eyes, his body goes into death spasms, his hand clutches hers tightly, and then relaxes. He is suddenly still.

Kakashi feels her pain. It is so great that tears form in his borrowed eye.

_The feelings she has for that criminal, is it greater than for me? _

Kakashi sees her kneeling by the fallen body. He approaches her, but not too close. He senses she needs space right now. She crosses Kamui's arms over his body. Her own hands are clasped as if in prayer and she's trying hard not to cry. With his death, the battle is over. The remainder of the gang has either surrendered or run away. The dead bodies remain inactive.

Kakashi walks over and places his hand on her shoulder. "It's over now, let's go home."

"The body?"

"It will be returned to his village as was requested by the feudal lord."

She nods, but then takes the forehead protector from Kamui's arm. It's covered in blood. She looks around and sees her staff, backpack and the birdcage. The cage is open and the birds have flown. She places the Grass protector in her pack and takes out her own Leaf protector. She ties it around her neck resolutely and dried eyed. "Ok, let's go."

__

Kakashi's Sharingan Restored

They say little on the way back. The Anbu are left to deal with the remaining rabble and the bodies. Kakashi notices he can't read her mind. She must have a mind block up. She's rushing ahead as though desperately trying to reach home. Kakashi can barely keep up after expending so much chakra during the battle.

It's dawn the next day when Hidden Leaf finally comes into view. Rikako breaks the silence. "My parents, what am I going to tell them?"

"The Hokage will have filled them in by now"

"They're never going to forgive me."

"Of course they will."

"No, you don't understand. My mother has always been wary of me, afraid and angry. And my father has always observed me, waiting for me to do something like this. Now they know my true powers. They only suspected before."

Kakashi doesn't know what to say. His parents died so long ago. "It will be okay. Your father was a shinobi, he knows about important missions," he tries to be encouraging.

Rikako sighs, "I'm going to have to move out. No more free meals and laundry."

"So, umm, when do I get my eye back?" Kakashi asks tentatively now that she seems to be in a normal mood.

"Don't you like my eye?"

"Not really, I prefer to live in ignorance. Not knowing what people think about me is infinitely better."

"I didn't think you cared, why else would you read that type of book in public."

He shrugs.

"So what did you miss more, me or your sharingan?"

Kakashi hesitates, _she'll know if I lie_, "Well, considering my sharingan and I have a much longer history and there's the sentimental value…"

__

"Idiot!"

her projected thought echoes harshly in his head.

A couple of days later, a knock on the door, Rika answers and sees Kakashi. "Rika-sama," he says politely, "How is Rikako doing?"

"She hasn't left her room since the operation. You can go up to see her if you want. Maybe you can speak to her...So how is your eye?"

"It's working as well as ever. Your husband is the most gifted shinobi surgeon ever," he smiles, happy to be reunited with his sharingan.

Her door is open. He peeks in. It's the first time he's been in her bedroom. It's quite bare, no mirrors or picture frames. The windows have shutters on the inside. A photo of their genin group is carefully taped to the wall along with pictures of her parents, her chuunin graduation picture with Kakashi, and her jounin graduation picture with Gai. She's lying flat on her bed, her arms behind her head, as though staring at the ceiling, but her eyes are closed. Kakashi thinks she must be meditating. He stares at the scar vertically across her left eye, like his. She is even more beautiful with a scar to match his own. But it's not as long, less obvious, her father took extra care with her.

"I came by to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine now." She sits up on her bed and he sits down next to her and puts his arm around her. "What happened with the other battalion?"

"Yashiro escaped, or rather he wasn't even there during the battle. The shinobi leader he swore vengeance against was found dead that night. He got his revenge in the end."

Rikako says nothing for a while, just thinking. "He was the smart one. His army was a ruse. He didn't care about taking over Rain Country. He sacrificed his army to distract the Rain shinobis while he made his way to his target. But Kam…" she chokes back the guilt, it's still hard for her to say his name.

"It's okay if you had feelings for him. After all, you were together for months." _Longer than we were together_.

"No, I'm all right. It was just like a dream, but I'm awake now, back in my reality. I'm home and safe and with you. That's all I care about."

Nice words, but are they really true, or is she just lying to him and to herself as well? She has become so adept at deception, can he believe her? A shinobi has to walk a fine line between truth and deception, what spills over to real life and what stays as part of the mission. Is what she says what she believes or what she denies herself? It doesn't matter, all that matters to him is she is home safe and in his arms, and…he had his beloved sharingan back!


End file.
